The Beckoning: Life, Love, and Destiny as told by Beck Oliver
by AribellBlack
Summary: I never believed in things like fate or soul mates. But, that all changed the day our eyes met. My whole world view was turned on its side, and I began to question nearly everything in my life. There were only a few certainties remaining: I have great hair. I love acting and everything involved with it. That you would become very important to me. Because, you already were...
1. The Beckoning: Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Victorious. Though, I'm not sure why disclaimers are necessary. Given that this is a fan fiction, it's safe to assume, I don't own the material it's based off of. o.O

Prologue

I never believed in things like fate or soul mates. But, that all changed the day our eyes met. My whole world view was turned on its side, and I began to question nearly everything in my life. There were only a few certainties remaining:

(1.) I have great hair.

(2.) I love acting and everything involved with it.

(3.) That you would become very important to me. Because, you already were…

In order to really put things in perspective, let me take it back to the beginning.

1995, Beck Oliver was born in the great country of Canada. If you haven't been there, I strongly recommend you visit. Anyway, I stayed in Canada for most of my childhood. I met one of my closest friends in feeferdoon, Moose. Yes, that's his name, and I am aware of the irony. Also, to clarify, Feeferdoon is what we call Kindergarten, in Canada.

Even back then, the girls seemed to notice me. Though, like most boys that age, I was put off by it. As Moose and I got older and females were no longer considered 'gross', we definitely took advantage of our growing popularity with the fairer sex. You see, I had the hair, but my pal, Moose, had the build. Dude was built like a mountain before he hit grade six.

Girls weren't our main focus though. As entertaining as all the attention was, we were still too wrapped up in our own hobbies to concern ourselves with girlfriends. Moose took to sports, and I dabbled in it with him. I was a boy, in Canada, so naturally I played a little Hockey. But, then I discovered my true passion; Acting.

When I was ten, my parents took me to an outdoor theater in the park. We sat in the grass atop a blanket with a crate full of snacks and beverages. They were showing '**On the Waterfront**'. At first, I wasn't all that interested. It was an old person movie, shot in black and white, filled with entertainers and themes I was unfamiliar with. I don't know if it was the relaxed, outdoor nature of the showing, or the way everyone seemed so engrossed with the images on screen, but I fell in love for the first time that night.

Though I couldn't fully comprehend some of the events in the movie at that time, the performance was so captivating that I resonated with the characters on a deeper level. I knew then that I wanted to touch people, inspire them, and make them _feel_.

On the way home that night, I told my family that I wanted to be like Marlon Brando. My mom smiled. Dad laughed. He didn't understand that I meant I wanted to act, not be a boxing dockworker. A month later, I auditioned for the school play, **Jack and the Beanstalk**. I was the vagabond that gives Jack the beans. Hey, everyone has to start somewhere.

In the **Wizard of Oz**, I was the scarecrow, and within a year, I started landing every lead I went for; Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Nutcracker Prince. By sixth grade, I was well known among the drama department of my school. And then, we moved…

My Dad got a job offer in the states. He's a surgeon. His specialty is cosmetic. My mom stayed home to take care of me and the house, though she had a degree in Literature. She writes in her spare time. I probably got my creative nature from her.

My dad is one of the best in his field, so when a top hospital in California offered him a position, my parents jumped at the chance, much to my displeasure. Not even the promise of Hollywood, could lessen my disappointment. I was being forced to leave behind my home, my school, and my _best friend_, for the unknown; a whole other country.

I didn't cry and I didn't make a fuss, because that just isn't my way, but I was still upset about it. My mom could tell. My dad didn't care, not much at least. We were packed and ready to head out by the end of the week. My parents decided to keep the house, for vacations, or just because. At the airport (the movers drove to meet us at the new house), I said goodbye to Moose. Few words passed between us, but we knew what the other was thinking. It's always been like that. We would miss each other, but we wordlessly promised to stay in touch, and at the time, we didn't think we'd ever find another friend like each other again.

My family and I landed in Hollywood about three hours later. There was a car waiting to take us to our new home. California was vastly different than Canada. For one, it was warmer. The afternoon traffic was no stranger to me, but the warm air and brightly shining sun was nearly polar opposite. Hollywood also had a more tropical feel to it, with the ocean not far away and the streets lined with swaying palms.

The new house was pretty nice, I had to admit. It was moderately sized; Four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, an attic, and a study. The best part though, was the backyard. There was a shaded patio, laid with blue-gray stone and a built-in fire-pit. To one side was a lounge, with a T.V. On the other, was a large, brick cooking station, with a pizza oven and a stainless steel grill, as well as a glass-top dining table. Off the patio was a rectangular, in-ground pool.

I still missed Canada and my best friend, but my excitement was doing a great job at soothing my pain. I spent the weekend unpacking and getting acquainted with my new room. Monday, my mom took me to my new school. We went early, to get me signed up and transferred before most of the kids showed up. I was grateful for that, though. I will never forget that first day…

**A/N**: Hi! So, my name's Gabby and welcome to my new fic. I haven't written in over a decade, so go easy on me. Anyways, I recently watched the entire show of Victorious and I was disappointed at how abrupt it ended. I also wasn't quite happy with the path it took towards the end. Soooo I decided to write the show from Beck's perspective. My first few chapters will mostly be exposition, to give you a look into his background and things like that. Some of my facts may be wrong, such as when he met who, etc. The timeline in Victorious wasn't always very clear, and Beck's life was vaguely touched upon, so a lot of it I have to just make up, myself, unfortunately.

So, I hope you enjoy my story. Review or don't. I'm not going to pressure you guys into those things, though it is nice to receive feedback.


	2. New School, New Friends, New Life

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Victorious.

New School, New Friends, New Life

"Alright Beck, I'm heading home now. Do you have everything?" My mom turned to me as we stood in the front office, her hands gripping my shoulders. Her brown eyes, my eyes, were warm, but I could still see the apprehension in them. That, and her nervous smile, made my own jitters rise, but I buried that with a lopsided smirk. I simply gave a short nod, adjusting my bag on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I got it mom. Don't worry."

"You have the map?"

"Yep."

"And your Schedule?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And your-"

"Mom!" I cut her off and she released a sigh before pulling me in for a tight hug. After a minute or two, I tapped her on the shoulder. "Mom, I can't breathe.." She immediately released me and began smoothing out my hair.

"Sorry, I'm just anxious. It's like the first day of Kindergarten all over again." At that point, I could see her eyes start to gloss over and knew I had to get her out of there.

"Mom, I love you, but goooo! I'll be fine!" I started pushing her out the door, just as students began arriving. We exchanged one last wave before she got in the car and left. I watched her go and then took a moment to get my bearings. The school was fairly large. And, as it started to fill with students, the activity quickly began to build into a frenzied bustle.

I decided to search for my locker, all the while fully aware of kids stopping to stare after me. I did my best to ignore it. I was used to girls staring, but i was new and nervous so it was making me a bit uncomfortable that day. It took me a bit, but I finally found my locker. I was trying the combination when a boy stopped beside me. He was only an inch or two shorter than me and had dark hair and eyes, and ebony skin.

"Hey Dude! You're new here, huh? Looks like we're locker neighbors." The boy had a cheery disposition and an infectious grin. "The name's Andre."

"Beck.." I introduced myself, shaking his hand briefly, then gave a nod of confirmation.

"Cool. Cool, Beck. Nice to meet you."

"You Too."

"So, what's your first class?" The boy gestured to the schedule in my hand. I showed him, and he beamed. "Sweet! Same class as me." Andre gestured for me to follow. I did so, and we talked about many things, even after taking our seats. When the teacher arrived, we switched to written communication. I told him about my family, Canada, and my passion in life.

**B**: _I'm an actor, just not a well-known one, unless you count my old school._

**A**: _Hey, that's cool. You should join Drama club. They put on the best programs, though not as good as Hollywood Arts._

**B**: _What's that?_

"Oliver! Harris!" My Gaze snapped to the teacher and away from Andre, who was in the middle of writing out a reply. Mr. Fullman was standing directly over us. "Because it's your first day, I will let this slide, Beck. Don't let me catch you two again." We both gave a curt nod.

When the teacher walked away to continue the lesson, I glanced over at Andre. He soundlessly mouthed an '_I'll tell you later_' before turning his attention back to the complicated math problem on the board. We remained that way the rest of class, taking notes and then pairing off to work on some problems. When the bell rang, we were one of the first to leave. I followed Andre back to our lockers.

"So, what's Hollywood Arts?" I asked, as I switched out my books for the next period; English.

"Oh, it's this high school that's exclusive to kids with talent. They except only the best and it can be anything, from singing and dancing to acting. If it's an art, it counts. I'd like to audition for it, myself."

I leaned up against the lockers, hands stuffed into my pockets as I watched him switch out his own books. "What's your talent?" I asked.

"I love music. Ever since I was five, I've learned every instrument I got my hands on. I even try to write my own songs. They're not very good, but everyone starts somewhere." My brows raised, impressed with the boy standing before me. I knew we would be good friends then. Although his passion didn't mimic mine, he was equally as dedicated to it. I could respect that. "I'm off to Science. Then, we have Computer Lab and History together. After that, I'll show you the lunchroom. " We shared a casual high-five, our shoulders leaning in to bump each other before we went our separate ways.

The next few periods passed by pretty quickly, mostly because I was new and trying to catch up in my lessons. I didn't meet anyone else that really stood out to me, and was soon heading back to my locker. On my way, I was passing by the choir room when I felt someone latch onto me with the force of a small bear. Stumbling forward, I looked down to see two slender arms squeezing my waist.

"Hi! Hi!" A young girl's voice came from behind me, dripping with childlike innocence. My brows shot up as I tried to turn and face her, but she just spun around with me, due to her strong grip on my midsection.

"Uhhh...Can I help you?" I was used to girls staring, even flirting, but this was on a whole new level! I heard her giggle. It was a laugh that on any other person, would sound a bit forced.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm Cat…"

"Um, Ookaay...Sorry. Can you let go of me?" I chuckled as I tried to peer over my shoulder. All I could see was her toffee-colored hair. Suddenly, her arms snatched away from my waist.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She yelled. I whirled around to face her, but she was already running down the hall. All I could see was her back disappearing among the sea of students. She was likely the shortest person in the entire school.

'_What was that?_' Bewildered, I turned to meet up with Andre. He showed me to the cafeteria and we grabbed our own table.

"So, How are you liking this place, man?" My mouth dropped open to speak when someone sat beside me. We both looked over, brows furrowed.

"Hi! Hi!" It was the same girl. She flashed a bright smile towards us, her warm brown irises matching her hair and wide with blissful naivete.

"Um, Hi, again." I was afraid to say much else in case she snapped and ran off again. She wore a lot of bright colors, most notably pink, and beside her, sat a Strawberry Shortcake backpack. My gaze lingered until she started eating, before sliding back to Andre who gave a knowing smile.

"So, I guess you met Cat." He added, prompting the girl to look up.

"Hi! Hi!" She greeted us as though it were the first time.

"Uhh..yeah. We met in the hallway. My name's Beck." I turned to look at the girl, finally introducing myself.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm Cat!"

"You already-" I felt a hand on my arm and looked over to Andre who shook his head, eyes widening. I quickly recalled the emotional whiplash I received earlier. Apparently, this was normal behavior for her.

"So...Cat.." I struggled to find anything to say that wouldn't trigger another episode. "Tell me about yourself." '_That should be safe..right?_'

"About yourself." She responded, her tone and expression so serious, I knew she wasn't joking.

'_Apparently not._' I thought, looking to Andre for help.

"Her name is Caterina Valentine, but she prefers Cat. She's probably the best singer in Choir, along with myself, of course." He smirked proudly, plucking at the front of his shirt with an air of confidence. I looked over to Cat to see her smiling up at me expectantly.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you." I held out my hand to her.

"Yay!" She exclaimed before attacking me with another hug.

'_Ookaay.._' I gave her a pat on the head, looking back to my friend. He just shrugged.

"Anyways, Cat, I was telling my boy here to sign up for Drama Club."

"Oh! Yay!" Cat gasped, releasing me finally.

"So, are you in Drama too?" I asked.

"We both are!" She added with a giggle.

"I participate a little, but my biggest contribution is supplying the music." Andre explained. "Cat's a pretty good actress and dancer, herself. Heck, she could probably put on a one-woman-show." He leaned towards me then, voice lowering to a whisper. "That is, when she's paying attention.."

The rest of lunch passed by in a blink. There were only a few outbursts from Cat, but Andre calmed her down. I was fast getting used to her odd behavior. Sometimes, she would interject the conversation with a weird tidbit about her brother. Andre just gave me a look that clearly stated '_just roll with it._'

After lunch, Andre left for band and I headed to Science with Cat. She made the class entertaining. Even the teacher just brushed off her strange actions. We all joined up for gym in sixth period, where we ran laps for the first ten minutes, and then spent the remainder learning how to play volleyball. After gym, Andre and I had Speech, and then we met up again in Art for our final class of the day.

When that ended at 2:50pm, I still had time before I had to meet my mom, so I followed them to the theater where Drama Club was held. Andre introduced me to the adviser so I could sign up, and then lead me to a nervous boy who was carrying a large doll. The boy was skinny and pale, with dark hair and glasses. The frames were black, made of a thick plastic. He reminded me of Harry Potter, but dorkier.

"This is Robbie. He Acts a bit too, but he's a _wiz_ with theater tech. He's in charge of the stage crew."

"H-Hi. I'm R-Robbie." He awkwardly extended his hand to me. I was about to shake it when a rough voice sounded from my left.

"He already knows that, Man! Don't be such a loser!" I blinked, staring at the puppet in Robbie's hands, then looked over to Andre who averted his gaze with a sigh.

"Umm, this is Rex...Powers. He's Robbie's Pupp-"

"Don't call him a puppet!" Robbie interrupted, clearly offended. Andre raised his hands defensively.

"Uh, right. Nice to meet you Robbie." The boy looked at me expectantly, before the...Rex cleared its (His?) throat. "And Rex…" I added dully. Hollywood had some strange kids.

"Anyway...I'm Beck. I just moved here." I checked the time and noticed it was a few minutes after three. "But, Hey, I have to go. Catch you guys tomorrow." With that, I ran out to meet my mom, who looked like she was seconds away from calling the police for a search team. I spent the ride telling her about my first day and my new friends. She seemed pretty happy and excited for me. I have to admit, despite the weirdness, I was too. At home, I hopped online and messaged Moose. We chatted for awhile, catching up, then I logged off to help my mom finish unpacking.

Over the next three years, Andre, Cat, and even Robbie became pretty close friends of mine. Not much changed about me, except perhaps my sense of style. I became inspired by the 80s and adopted some of its laid-back fashion sense into my wardrobe, namely distressed jeans and layered shirts. I discovered my love for combat boots and began wearing an assortment of what Cat likes to call 'Man-Jewelry'. My hair got a bit longer and fluffier, which only increased my popularity with the ladies. I pretended not to notice, though I certainly wasn't complaining.

I was a favorite in Drama, and was always cast as the lead. This happened so often, a lot of times no other guys would try out for the same part as me. I found it disappointing, as i liked the challenge, the competition. In seventh grade, I decided to join Andre in band and choir. He helped me learn the guitar. Apparently, Robbie could play too. I joined choir because sometimes the school would put on musicals, and I wanted to get comfortable with my singing voice. I wasn't the best, but I wasn't bad either. Besides, most actors can sing, so the more talents I nurtured, the more successful I would be in the future.

The end of eighth grade was bittersweet. All four of us decided to try out for Hollywood Arts, and although we wouldn't admit it aloud, we weren't sure any of us would get in, let alone all four, especially Robbie..So, it came as a surprise when we did.

I recited my favorite scene from '**On the Waterfront**'. It seemed only right to use the one thing that started me on my journey. Andre wrote and performed his own original song. Cat sang and danced her big heart out (one of the only big things about her). Robbie was a surprise. He went in to play his guitar, but before he could start, he began arguing with him- I mean, Rex. Apparently, the judges thought it was part of the act and found it hilarious. We went to the beach to celebrate. Although we were happy we all got accepted and were on the path to follow our dreams, we would miss everyone we'd met and befriended over the course of Jr. High.

We spent the first couple weeks of summer together, going to the beach, having All-night-video-game-marathons with Andre and Rob, and supplying Cat sweets for her sugar fix. Too soon, however, I was boarding a flight back to Canada with my mom for our annual visit to the home country.

Dad would always join us for a week or two in late June. At least he was there for Canada Day. But, he never stayed longer than that. His job didn't really allow it. I didn't mind. He and I started growing distant. He didn't approve of my decision to pursue acting. I guess he assumed I'd grow out of it. When that didn't happen, we started arguing all the time. So, I was grateful for the time apart. Although she didn't like to show it, I knew it was affecting my mom. I often caught her looking at me after one of my 'disagreements' with dad, and I could see the sorrow in her eyes, no matter how faint. She always managed a smile though, and would take me to the cinema to cheer me up.

I spent most of the summer hanging out with Moose. He was certainly living up to his name. At fifteen, he was already nearing six feet and had a bulkier frame than the lean muscles I was sporting. Between you and me, he wasn't the brightest either. It was probably all those hits he took playing hockey. He told me about his school and mentioned he would start training with the high school team in August. He also told me about the latest girl he was dating. Moose was obsessed with only three things; Hockey, Girls, and Burgers. I enjoyed attention from girls, but I hadn't found one whose admiration I reciprocated just yet.

When August came around, I was sad to leave, as per usual, but I was also buzzing with anticipation. Orientation was only a couple weeks away, and I _couldn't_ _wait_ to see my new school.


	3. Welcome to Hollywood Arts

**Disclaimer**: I don't own victorious.

Welcome to Hollywood Arts

My mom and I pulled up to the school parking lot. I could already tell it was different than any other high school. The building was _covered_ in artwork. Everything from graffiti to full murals decorated its walls, and that was just the outside.

We climbed out of the car with identical expressions of awe as we approached the front entrance. I took my time admiring all the different pieces. Then, my eyes fell on a familiar face. Standing at the entrance, handing packets to the visiting freshmen and their families, was a homeless-looking man. He had wild, unkempt hair with a noticeable bald spot, and was wearing layers upon layers of eccentric clothes that looked like he grabbed them from the dumpster behind Goodwill.

Noticing my mom stiffen, I glanced down at her and saw the confusion in her eyes. "That's Mr. Sikowitz. He's a teacher here." I whispered in her ear. I was already a few inches taller than her. Moose wasn't the only one who experienced a growth spurt over the years.

"He's a teacher?" She hissed in astonishment. Before I could answer, the odd man was standing before us with a welcoming smile.

"Ahh! Mr. Oliver! And this must be your cousin!" He turned to hold a hand out towards my mother with a flourishing bow. I saw her force a warm smile and place her hand hesitantly into his own. Sikowitz immediately dropped it, straightening back up with a little hop that startled us both.

"Oh! Haha..I'm actually his mother. You may call me Shannon."

"Wonderful! Here you are!" Sikowitz handed me a folder with the Hollywood Arts logo on it. It was also decorated with artwork, and on the inside was a short paragraph about the artist. Apparently, it was designed by an upperclassman.

While Sikowitz directed us towards the Black Box (that's the name of their theater), I skimmed the packet's contents. There was obviously a handbook, with rules and dress codes inside, but there was also a catalog of classes we could enroll in, a schedule of events, and a pamphlet about locker individuality. When I flipped through that, I looked up to see some of the craziest lockers surrounding me. Almost every one of them was unique. There were some that remained blank, likely for new students. I didn't get a chance to admire all of them, as we soon stepped into the dark auditorium.

It was already filling up. I did, however, spot a couple of familiar heads and lead my mom over to the recognizable dreads and bushy black fro."Andre, Robbie!" Dre jumped up with that same happy expression he almost always wore to give me a brief one-armed hug. My mom and I joined him as he sat back down.

"Dude! You made it for Orientation!" He exclaimed. Rob sent me a wave, which I returned.

"Wouldn't miss it. Where's Cat?"

"Hi! Hi!" A familiar face appeared as the girl pushed Rob and Dre out of the way to attack me in a crushing squeeze.

"Oh! Wow! Cat, your hair is so..red. I didn't recognize you!" She gasped, sitting back in her seat with a shocked little squeak.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Nothing, I like it." Her appalled expression flipped like the turning of a page, the happy smile and doe eyes once again lighting her features. Just then, a tall, middle-aged man stepped up to the mic at the front of the stage. He reminded me of an older Robbie, with shorter, dark hair, and thick, black spectacles. I recognized him as Principal Eichner.

"Good afternoon, ladies and Gents. I'd like to welcome our incoming students and their families." He paused, allowing some of the noise and applause to die down. "Now, before I go over some of the guidelines and how things are done here, I thought I'd let some of our established students show you what Hollywood Arts is all about!"

My chest swelled with excitement as the room erupted into cheers. The sound was deafening and I couldn't wait to have it directed at me. I leaned back in my seat, applauding lightly as a handful of students walked out. They situated themselves at the multitude of instruments on stage. An older girl, probably a Junior or Senior if I had to guess, with blonde hair cropped short, took Mr. Eichner's place at the microphone. The lights in the theater dimmed until a lone cone of brilliance focused on the vocalist.

The room fell silent before it filled with the swelling sound of a piano. I'm sure I could speak for everyone in the audience when I say it was a breathtaking and exhilarating performance. The song started out slow then picked up into a poppy, upbeat tune. The piano was soon joined by a symphony of other instruments. There was a break in the lyrics halfway through, to give dancers a chance to shine. Then, the song ended and curtains closed on the students. After that was a poetry slam, recited by a pale guy with dreads to his waist, and after that, a group of four performed a short skit about an arranged marriage between two people who later found out, the night before the wedding, that they were long lost siblings. It was weird, but interesting. Mr. Eichner soon returned to the stage along with Lane, the guidance counselor. I recognized him from my audition as well. He's obsessed with lotion.

"Alright! How about one last round of applause for our talented students?" We all obliged and he waited for us to settle once again. "Okay! Parents, please remain here for us to go over a few things. Students, I will direct you to one of our upperclassmen and separate you into groups. They will give you a tour of the school and answer any questions you have. At the end, everyone is welcome to grab lunch at our asphalt cafe and then you'll all be free to go home." I looked to my friends, hoping I'd get grouped with them, though that was unlikely.

"If your last name falls between A and G, step over here next to Melissa." He gestured to the blonde vocalist from the first performance. "H through N, over to Jason." A boy in skinny jeans and a beanie waved a hand, a guitar slung across his back. I pat Andre on the back as he walked over to meet the older musician. "O through V, please join Matthew." Rob, Cat, and I stood, glad to be among some familiar faces at least, and wandered towards the poet with the assortment of rainbow dreadlocks. "And lastly, W through Z, go with Rebecca. Thank you."

I watched Eichner talk with some of the staff while we all squeezed past each other to find our tour guides. I heard a chorus of giggles and whispers follow me, though by now, I was used to it. Every time my eyes met the varying shades of browns, blues, and greens, they would avert their gaze, blood pooling just under the surface of the owners' faces, giving even the darkest skin a rosy tint. A traffic jam was starting to crowd the way, until a harsh voice ripped through the air, causing the room to fall silent.

"MOVE! Idiots!" Like Moses parted the sea, the crowd separated, bringing into view an impatient looking girl. I was the one staring now. There was a scowl on her otherwise porcelain features. Her pale skin and blue-green eyes were striking against the black attire dripping off her. Her arms were wrapped in lace, her blouse shredded across her chest, revealing a splash of royal purple, a cami matching the highlights in her light brown hair. She wore ripped, black, skinny jeans, and stomped towards Rebecca in heavy, studded combat boots.

The upperclassman looked terrified, eyes wide, and a tremble causing her figure to visibly shake. The goth girl came face to face with me and stopped. I watched her eyes flick up and down my relaxed form, the sneer only fading into a minimal frown. I was sure she would soon react like every other girl I'd met, excluding cat, so I was surprised when she hissed at me.

"Get out of my way.." My eyebrows rose slightly as I stared at her. She seemed to get even more irritated when I didn't respond in some way, her eyes narrowing in a chilling glare as her jaw visibly clenched. I swear, I saw a vein pulse in her forehead. "Well?!" She snapped. Everyone was staring at our exchange now, even the teachers.

"You forgot to say please." I finally recovered from my shock and spoke without thinking. Though my voice wasn't very loud and remained even, in the quiet of the Black Box, everyone could hear me. In that moment, I was sure they were all holding their breath to see the girl's response. For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flicker of shock strike across her features, but, like lightning it didn't last long and was followed by the rumble of thunder, in this case, a growl.

Without saying a word, she shoved past me, forcing me to step to the side. I watched her back as people began moving around me once again. I don't know why I reacted that way, but there was something about her that pulled me in. Maybe it was because she didn't fall at my feet, or maybe it was her sense of style. But, I knew one thing for sure, she was amusing to rile up.

Matthew showed our group around the school for the next hour or so. He had this laid back vibe, with a lazy speech pattern when he wasn't performing. It reminded me of the stoner in every teen movie involving a group of kids that seemed like they had nothing in common, but then they find out in the end that they aren't so different after all.

Occasionally our group would pass by others. Rob, Cat, and I would greet Andre whenever we spotted him, and when we walked by Rebecca's group, my gaze would linger on the goth girl who would either look extremely bored, twirling a pair of scissors (weird..), or highly impatient, with her arms folded and a foot tapping the floor until they moved on. Whenever she caught me staring, she'd shoot a glare in my direction, which would elicit an involuntary tug at the corner of my mouth. My smirk seemed to only irritate her further, because she then huffed, turning her back on me with an angry toss of her long dark hair. This, of course, only made me grin wider as I turned my attention back to the tour.

Once it was over, my friends and I all met up at the asphalt cafe. It was pretty cool, if I'm being honest. Like the rest of the school, there was artwork everywhere, with tables scattered around. Off to one side was a drink cart and on the other end was a food truck. The guy who ran it, Festus, had a thick accent and honestly, he was kinda strange. His mood changed almost as fast as Cat's. I settled on a slice of pepperoni Pizza and joined my friends at an empty table. Did I mention there was also an elevated stage over the outdoor Cafeteria?

"Beck, Honey, if you want, you can stay with your friends. I'm heading home to start planning dinner." I looked up as my mom came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. Mouth full, I nodded an affirmative and gave her a quick hug goodbye. I felt her kiss the top of my head and then watched as she waved to my friends and left.

"I can get my dad to drop you off later, Beck, unless you guys want to come over to my crib." Andre suggested, looking around the table. He was met with a chorus of murmured agreements. The sound of plastic hitting the table, followed by a bag falling to the ground, alerted us to a new presence. We all looked up just as a darkly clad female dropped in a seat across from me, next to Cat. It was that girl again. I think we were all surprised by her sudden appearance, our blank expressions shooting quick glances at each other. The stranger didn't even seem to notice us as she began to devour her meal, a chicken Caesar salad from the looks of it. The silence ticked by for the longest time, before she dropped her plastic fork and lifted her chin. Her glare settled on each of us.

"WHAT?!" She yelled, causing most of the table to jump in their seats. They averted their eyes, focusing instead on eating their meal in silence, too afraid to say anything. My eyes stayed glued to her face, however. I studied her expression, every crease of her brow, the twist of her sneer, and the boiling anger on the surface of her eyes. There was something more though, something deeper. I couldn't quite understand it, but I could sense it was there. "What are you looking at?" She spat, her voice dripping with venom.

I continued to stare a bit longer before rolling my shoulders in a haphazard shrug. "You tell me.." I couldn't help the lopsided smirk when I saw her eyes twitch with frustration. Instead of responding, however, she stood, shoving herself away from the table. She didn't even take her salad with her as she began stomping away from us. "I'll meet up with you guys later." I added. Grabbing both my plate, and her unfinished salad, I jogged after her, falling into step beside her. "You forgot your salad." I stated matter-of-factually, amused by the eye-roll she shot in my direction.

"Stop following me." She barked. Her arms folded across her chest defensively, trying to shut me out.

"Hey, you sat down with us.." I accused, still smirking. She increased her speed, but easily kept up with her. Finally, she came to a halt so quickly I had to backtrack a couple steps. A growl ripped through her throat as her hand swung out, knocking the salad from my hands. Lettuce, chicken, and other toppings flew everywhere, all over the pavement. I looked down, then seemingly unfazed, my eyes met hers again. "That's littering. You could have told me you didn't want it." My own face split into a grin as she continued to glare coldly at me.

"Ugh! What is wrong with you?!" She screamed. Admittedly it hurt my eardrums and I involuntarily leaned back, blinking. I recovered quickly though and a chuckle lept from my lips, deep from within my chest. She just stared at me, bewildered by my reaction. At least I was getting something other than anger from her now.

"I don't know. I guess I like you." The bold statement that fell from my lips, surprised even myself. Her mouth dropped open as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Before her shock could wear off, I followed up with a question of my own. "So, what's your name?"

"Jade..West." She muttered, glancing around to see if anyone was looking. My guess is she didn't want people to see her tough exterior falter like it was right now. She shifted uncomfortably in front of me. Her uncertain gaze froze over again, returning to that cold stare as she sized me up. "What's yours? Not that I care."

"Beck, Oliver." I smirked, looking down at her through a curtain of my dark, shaggy hair. I lifted a hand, running my fingers through it to push it back from my eyes. "I'll see you around, Jade.." Taking a step towards her, she stiffened and even leaned back a bit. But, I just walked around her, my shoulder lightly brushing against hers, nudging her in a playful manner. As I returned to my friends, I turned to look back, and saw for the briefest moment, her staring back at me. And then we turned away from each other and continued on our way.


	4. Jade West

Jade West

After orientation, we had a week to get ready for school. I spent most of the weekend flipping through the catalog of classes. Just because it was a performing arts school, didn't mean we could skip out on core classes. I still had to choose an English, Math, History, and Science course, but my remaining four was completely up to me. In the end, I signed up for Intro to theater, Dance, Screenwriting for Beginners, and a Study of Classic Cinema. It was my freshman year so I wanted to stay somewhat in my comfort zone.

Once I submitted my enrollment choices on the school's website, I called up Andre and told him to alert the others and meet at my house. He agreed, stating he'd be there in twenty minutes. While waiting, I figured I'd head down to the kitchen and pop some snacks into the microwave. I filled a plate full of pizza rolls and waited. Both of my parents were out for the afternoon and wouldn't be home until late. Dad was working, as usual. Mom was out running errands; paying bills, shopping, and rewarding herself with a trip to the salon.

The microwave beeped and I pulled the plate out, a cloud of steam wafting into my face. I just sat down to turn on the T.V. when I heard the doorbell sound off throughout the house. Jumping up, I jogged to the front door.

"Hey Dude, what's up?" Andre greeted me with his usual. We bumped shoulders before I stepped aside to let him in. Rob hugged me...and I awkwardly patted him on the back until he let go. Cat jumped up, her arms hooking themselves around my neck while her feet dangled over half a foot from the floor. I laughed, supporting her weight before allowing her to drop back to the ground. "So, we just chillin, or did you have something specific you wanted to see us about?" Andre asked as I shut the door.

"Well i just finished submitting my picks for classes and thought we'd get together, maybe hear what you all chose." Leading them to the Den, I occupied my previously abandoned seat. Cat and Robbie dropped onto the couch nearby as Dre perched himself on the arm rest. "Also, I thought we could brainstorm ideas for our lockers."

"Well, I signed up for Intro to theater, band, songwriting, and Vocals." answered Andre. "Plus, I think I already know what I'm going to do for my locker. Though, I may need Rob to help me figure it out." Robbie's head snapped up, a look of shock on his face just from hearing his name spoken aloud.

"M-me?" He stuttered, then Rex piped up from his position on Rob's lap.

"No, Robert de Niro.." The puppet shook his head in disbelief. "And I'm supposed to be the dummy.." he muttered, causing Robbie's jaw to drop open and his eyes to look hurtfully at him. Andre just rolled his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, Rob, you. See, I think I want to make the front of my locker a keyboard and instead of a combination like everyone else, I could somehow set up a musical password or something." He lifted his shoulders briefly. "Not sure if it can be done, but it'd be real cool."

"Oh..Yeah..I think I could figure something out." Robbie added, his spat with Rex now forgotten. "I don't really know what I want to do yet.. But I did finish signing up for classes. I figured everyone would be taking Intro to theater, so I signed up for that too. I also enrolled in technical theater, intro to songwriting, and vocals." We all looked over to Cat then, watching her play with the ends of her vibrant, red hair. She looked up at us, her eyes wide and innocent.

"What were we talking about?" She asked, looking around the room for some kind of clue. She then giggled, dropping her hands to her lap. "One time, my brother joined a band. But then, security chased him off the football field. Ha! Ha! Ha!" she shook her head, still chuckling at her story.

"Cat, we were talking about the classes we signed up for. What about you?" I prodded, raising my eyebrows at her. I loved Cat, but getting her to hold a conversation was impossible sometimes.

"What about me, what?" She asked in that same airy voice she always had. Then she gasped, bouncing in her seat excitedly. "Oh! Let me tell you what classes I signed up for!" We all groaned inwardly, but at least she was answering our question. "So, I picked vocals, dance, intro to theater, and the art of circus performance!" She seemed especially excited about the last one, her face splitting into a big smile. '_Circus performance?_' I wondered, eyeing her carefully. I shook my head.

"Okay, but what are you thinking of doing for your locker?" I asked, reaching for a handful of pizza rolls now that they'd cooled down a bit. Cat went back to playing with her hair, shrugging.

"I dunno..Oh! Wait! I'll just paint it Pink and put a big tulip on the front! A happy tulip cause tulips make me happy." She giggled again, now trying to chew on her hair. She'd told us it reminded her of red velvet cupcakes. Sometimes, I worry about her.

Dre looked to me as he asked the obvious question. "What about you, Beck? Any ideas on how to decorate your own locker? Those pamphlets suggested picking something that represents you as an individual." His face split into a grin. "You could always cover it in pictures of your hair." I knew he was teasing and it brought a smile to my face.

"Very funny.." I rolled my eyes, and sat back, thoughtfully chewing on my snack while the others helped themselves to the treat, waiting on my answer. "Oh, I know..I'll just make my locker transparent." Two sets of eyebrows knit together, staring at me. Cat was too engrossed in the food to pay any attention. I decided to elaborate. "Well, I consider myself an honest person. I don't lie and I don't keep secrets, so..neither will my locker." I shrugged.

"Man...that's deep, my dude." Dre's confusion cleared up as he gave a slow nod, moving his head up and down thoughtfully. "I like it. Sounds like we're all set for school then, except Robbie." He turned his attention to our curly-headed friend. "You need to figure something out. You don't want to be the only one with a plain locker." Robbie's shoulders slumped as his face fell.

"I know.." The frail boy released a heavy sigh in defeat. Just then, Rex spoke up, verbalizing his opinion. "Man, you're such a baby. Oh! Oh! I know! Just attach all of your old bottle nipples to the locker." the puppet laughed as Robbie made Rex slap his thigh. "Just don't forget, part of that locker's mine!" He added. "I'm gonna put chains all over it and a Chrysler emblem. One day, I'mma have that car." The puppet nodded, his expression blank, but his '**tone**' determined.

"Sounds like we all have a plan." I finally spoke up after a couple minutes, leaning forward on my knees. "So, you guys want to play some cards?" They all murmured agreement and gathered around the dining table while I went to retrieve my deck from upstairs. We spent the afternoon playing different card games until we grew bored of that and then popped in a movie.

Later that night, I dreamed of pale skin and blue-green eyes. With school plans made, it left my mind open to linger on other things. So, for the next few days, Jade took up residence in my brain. My friends and I got together a couple days before the start of term to shop for school supplies, but I was just going through the motions. I kept picturing her flawless, lily-white skin, and her guarded eyes. I wanted to pry them open and _read her soul_.

Being a man with no secrets, I found myself wanting to discover all of hers. She was the only girl who didn't fall all over me. I liked her individuality and honestly, the challenge intrigued me. So, when the first day of school rolled around, I found myself getting up hours earlier than necessary. I spent a good hour on my hair alone, trying out different styles, before finally settling on the perfect one. But, then I started obsessing over what to wear.

I settled on my usual, distressed jeans and combat boots. For my torso, I clothed it in a gray tank with a black button down which I left open. It was still too early to leave, so I lay in bed for a bit, just staring at the ceiling, until I heard movement downstairs. That meant my mom was awake. Unafraid to stomp down the stairs then, I greeted her with a kiss on her cheek. "Hi, Mom! Bye, Mom!" I called out, snatching up an apple and racing for the door. I left before she could even breathe and made my way to the nearest bus stop.

Andre lived relatively close by so we met up there. We climbed onto the public transport and I listened to him talk about his senile grandmother and her latest antics. Well, I say I listened, but not really. I was still thinking of a certain goth, wondering how I could approach her today.

A block away from the school, we stepped off the bus and met up with Cat and Rob at the corner. We walked together to the entrance. Campus was still relatively empty, seeing as we arrived early. I watched them go sit at the same table we shared during orientation in the asphalt cafe, before turning to lumber over to the drink cart. The line was short, and at the front, I saw a head of brunette waves, different colored streaks peeking through intermittently. Jade West.

"Uh..yeah, coffee, one cream and sugar, and a double shot of espresso." I handed over some bills and waited impatiently for them to finish my order. "Thanks!" I added quickly, grabbing the cup and running after Jade's retreating figure. She had her eyes glued to her phone.

"Hey!" I watched the girl freeze, her back visibly stiffening as I caught up to her. She quickly resumed, her pace picking up in speed as I fell into step beside her. "So, excited for the first day?" I asked, determined to strike up a conversation. She seemed just as determined to ignore me, though I could see her jaw clench.

I followed her all the way inside to her locker, which had been painted black. "What classes do you have?" I prodded again, leaning up against her neighbor's as I took a sip of my coffee. '_Mm..Good Coffee..Silent treatment huh?_' I allowed my gaze to linger on her as she threw books into her locker roughly. Despite her mean demeanor, I had to admit, she was.._gorgeous_. She seemed to notice my staring and finally slammed her locker shut before meeting my gaze with a cold glare.

"GO. AWAY!" She snapped, visibly fuming. For a moment, I thought I saw her hair actually bristle with frustration. There was a wild look in her eyes, one that would normally scare off the biggest, meanest hockey player, but for some reason, it just amused me. I grinned. "Ugh! What?!" She yelled. I pushed myself off the locker and stepped closer to her. She took an involuntary step back, pressing her back to her own locker and reluctantly lifting her chin to look at me. I said nothing, my gaze holding hers. There was a twinkle of mischief in mine, I'm sure. I'm also certain she could sense my curiosity as I probed her, trying to read the subtle changes in her expression. Her glare relaxed just a fraction, allowing me to catch a glimpse of confusion and..apprehension, possibly?

Jade's nostrils flared and her breast rose and fell heavily with each breath, despite herself. I could almost see the cracks forming in her facade. A slow smile spread across my lips as we stayed like that, staring at each other, each of us trying to read the other. Her expression slowly softened into an emotionless mask. And then the bell rang, making us both jump. "Time for class.." I stated simply and before she could say anything, I leaned forward swiftly, feeling her visibly stiffen against me. My lips grazed over her cheek, yet not actually coming into contact with her pale skin.

A crooked grin tugged at my lips as I stepped back, and turned, heading for first period. I didn't look back, but I know I left her stunned, because it was several seconds before I heard her slam something against the locker and stomp away. I chuckled, shaking my head as I walked into Civics.

Most of my core classes were in the morning. That, coupled with the fact that it was the first day of school, lead to time passing rather quickly. We didn't cover much. We did some introductory exercises, received our textbooks, and any other necessities that would be supplied for the class. Then we covered the handbook and individual classroom guidelines. Fairly straightforward stuff, really. When lunch rolled around, I met up with Cat, Rob, and Andre at the food truck. Today, I ordered the ravioli.

As we talked about our morning classes, I could feel the back of my neck prickle and turned in my seat, just in time to see Jade staring at me from across the lot. She looked away quickly though, feigning indifference while stabbing angrily at her food. I smirked, watching her until she took a chance to glance at me. We locked eyes, and I gave her a taunting grin, until she glared and stood up to walk away. I turned back to my friends.

After lunch, we separated. Dre, Cat, and Rob went off to Vocals and I headed towards my script-writing class. I kept my eyes to the ground as I walked in. After a while, all the classes start to look the same. When I did, finally, look up, it was only to lazily sweep my gaze over my surroundings. Rather than individual desks, there were tables with chairs situated around each one. My eyes fell on one located at the back and I felt my mouth split into a grin. Walking over, I dropped into an empty chair, prompting the other person sitting there to look up. I was immediately met with a cold stare. "No."

"No, what?" I asked with a shit-eating grin. I swore steam was about to come out of her nose as she snorted through it like an angry bull. I didn't flinch or allow my easy nature to falter. This made her clench her fists atop the table until her knuckles turned bone white.

"No, you can't sit here."

"I'm pretty sure I can sit wherever I please. But I could ask the teacher, just to be sure." I gestured to the man seated at his desk in the corner and saw her resolve starting to fail her as she growled under her breath.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep bugging me? Every time I turn around, you're there with your _stupid_ grin and your _stupid_ hair." she hissed accusingly. Admittedly the insult to my hair did hurt a bit. '_Ouch..._'

"Hey, leave my hair out of this. It did nothing to you." I retorted, hands reaching up to comb through my thick mane. She just rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat, arms crossing. "So..we're bound to share some of the same classes, like this one. Might as well make the most of it and get along." I smirked, wiggling my brows at her. I could see her fighting the urge not to crack a smile at me. I've never met someone so determined to be miserable. I leaned closer, my mouth hovering near her ear. It was so close, I was sure she could feel my warm breath tickle her skin. "You know you wanna…"

Jade visibly stiffened and despite herself, I saw the tiniest shudder run down her spine. '_So she wasn't so impenetrable after all.'_ But, my victory was short lived, as she was saved by the teacher. Class had begun and we both turned our attention to the lesson. It was more of the same from this morning, though this time, He actually gave us an assignment.

"Alright class, the table you're sitting at will be your assigned group for the rest of the semester. " I saw ,from the corner of my eye, Jade's own widen in horror. '_Ha! She's stuck with me now.._' I smirked, folding my arms across my chest while the teacher continued. "This week, we will focus on the different properties that make up a script, how they are typically written compared to novels or short stories, and then I will assign you a group project. You will have to write your own script, together, and perform it in front of the class. But, we'll get to that later."

'_Hmm..this class sounds like it'll be fun_.' I thought, pursing my lips. I caught Jade glaring at me and shot her a taunting grin. The teacher passed around a short script, just a few pages long, but it was filled with blank spaces.

"Since it's the first day, we'll take things easy. Spend the rest of class with your group and fill in your scripts. It's just like a mad lib, but I will pick the best one and have that group perform it next class." There were murmurs of excitement and I noticed then that Jade and I were the only ones at our table. That was fine with me. I grinned, nudging her knee with mine.

"Well, **Partner**, what do you think?" I teased. She hissed, avoiding eye contact with me. That just made me laugh softly as I held up the script to look it over. We spent the rest of class passing the paper back and forth, filling in the blanks in silence. When the bell rang, Jade jumped up and ran from the class.

My next two classes were interesting, but only one had any of my friends in them. I was taking Dance with Cat seventh period. We watched the teacher demonstrate different styles with a guest teacher. It seemed the first term would be spent learning ballroom. Though not what I had expected, I was fine with it. I decided then that I'd partner up with Cat. Better with a friend, than a stranger.

Our last class of the day was Intro to theater. Everyone filed into the classroom which consisted only of open chairs. I sat near the front with Andre, Cat, and Robbie. The familiar stomp of heavy, leather boots drew my attention towards the back as Jade sat down in the corner. I lifted my chin in greeting when her eyes met mine. She immediately looked away, tugging out a pair of scissors, which she began to clean, almost with murderous intent. '_Creepy.._'

Just when we thought class would be canceled, the window opened and Sikowitz climbed in, looking as homeless as ever. This time, however, he was barefoot. I wondered if this was going to be a normal occurrence or if he just lost his shoes.

"Good Morning Class!"

"Uhh..It's two in the afternoon." Andre added, a look of confusion on his face.

"Ah! Right! Well...that too!" Sikowitz dismissed his blunder with a wave of his hand. "Anyway! Alphabet improv! Who knows what that is?" He asked. No one raised their hands. I'd heard of improv, obviously, but what did the alphabet have to do with that? "I see...Alright, who knows what Improv is." Many more hands shot up then, including myself, Andre, Cat, Robbie, and Jade. "Beck!" He pointed at me. "Explain!"

"Uhh.." '_Explain? Does he mean, explain why I know or explain to the students what the activity actually is?_' "So, basically, you don't have a script, so you perform without one and just..make something up." Sikowitz seemed satisfied, because he then beckoned me up to the front.

"Pick your team!" I looked around the room, pointing to each person as I called them. "Andre, Cat…" I paused, eyeing Jade. _Maybe…_"Jade.." Her eyes snapped open as she sat up straighter, eyeing me with confusion again. "And Robbie." I added, then held up my finger as Rob was heading over. "Do **_not_**..bring Rex." Robbie pouted, setting the doll down, then came to stand at my side.

"Alright, let's start with the letter A today, and then every line after that will start with each letter of the alphabet!" Sikowitz stepped off the stage and took an empty seat at the front of the audience. I glanced around thoughtfully to come up with something to say, but Andre beat me to it.

"Andre!...is my name?" He looked at the rest of us, uncertainty in his eyes as he shrugged.

"Beck is mine, nice to meet you Andre." I held out a hand which he shook.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm Cat!"

"Out!" We all paused, looking over to Sikowitz as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "The next word should have started with a C, sorry Cat." I watched my naive friend's jaw drop. Her eyes tightened like she was going to cry, but Andre pulled a sucker from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Yay! I love candy!" She giggled, taking the treat and running off to reclaim her seat.

Sikowitz signaled us to continue and Robbie spoke up. "Candy is great, especially at Halloween."

"**Don't** talk to me about Halloween!" Jade snapped, making Robbie flinch and run behind me. I smirked, letting my gaze lock onto hers.

"**Easter** is what you prefer?" I teased, stepping closer to her. She only narrowed her eyes at me.

"I do like those chocolate bunnies.." Andre added before Sikowitz called him out as well. The next letter was 'F'. Honestly though, Andre seemed relieved. I don't think he was expecting to be put on the spot on his first day.

"For years I thought a bunny really hopped around laying eggs" Rob chimed in, earning him strange looks from the whole room. "...I quit.." he muttered. He darted back to his chair, picking up Rex and placing him on his lap. That just left Jade and me. We locked eyes, and I took a step closer to her.

"Get away from me." She hissed though she stood her ground, her arms folding defensively.

"Happy to **not** do as you request."

"If you come any closer, you will regret it!"

"Just what are you so afraid of?" I asked, stepping closer to her. She leaned back.

"Keep antagonizing me and see what happens!"

"Love to." I grinned, sliding my hands deep into my front pockets.

"Man, you make me so mad!" She let out a frustrated growl, shaking her head as she turned away from me.

"Now, don't be like that.." I teased, leaning down towards her ear. She flinched, whipping around to face me only to jump back, as our noses came within inches of each other.

"Obviously, I don't like you, so why do you keep this up?"

"Possibly, because I don't believe you.." This startled her. Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped, and for a millisecond, I saw her mull it over. But it was just a millisecond, then she was back to her cold resolve, sneering at me.

"Quit dreaming, Never going to happen!" '_Ouch.._'

"Really?"

"Seriously wish you'd leave me alone."

"Thinking you protest too much. What are you hiding?"

"Voicing false truths is your specialty, not mine." For the first time since we met, I saw her lips tug into a smirk, though the look in her eyes was more malicious.

"Well, that's just not true at all." She was about to retort with the letter X, when I beat her to the punch, glancing towards Sikowitz. "Xyresic, is what you want to be, but I think there's more to you than the mask you wear. Go out with me, this Saturday.." I smirked, my brows dancing as she stood in shock. She glanced to her left, seeing our classmates waiting patiently.

"Jade..your letter is Y." Sikowitz prompted. He seemed engrossed in our exchange and was sipping on a coconut. Where it came from, I have no idea, because he didn't have one at the start of class. Jade looked back to me, only then realizing how close we stood to each other. There was only an inch or two between us, just like that morning at her locker. I watched for any change in her demeanor. First, her body went rigid. Then, she pursed her lips and her face reddened with anger. Next, she relaxed, brows knitting together as she tried to read me, confused. But she gained nothing from my continuous, lopsided grin. Finally, her back straightened and she lifted her chin, mimicking my smirk.

"Yes.." It was only one word, but it was enough to make my smile spread wider as I leaned in to kiss her. She stopped me, however, her hand against my lips. "Zero chances of that happening.." But as she walked off the stage, I caught the unspoken word in her gaze. '_Yet.._'


	5. Fragments of Bade

Fragments of Bade

(**August**)

Jade and I sat in the corner of Mario's, a small, family-owned, Italian place of my choosing. We had decided to meet there, since neither of us were old enough to drive, nor did we want our parents to come with us. I had gotten there first, arriving by bus. For our date, I had decided to forgo my usual attire in favor of dark jeans and a nice, navy button down. That afternoon I invested in a single Red Rose. This was my first date with any girl, so forgive me for any cliches I may have committed.

Jade was dropped off in a black sedan with tinted windows. When she stepped out of it, I felt my stomach twist into knots, like when you go downhill on a roller coaster. Involuntarily, I drew in a breath. She wore a short, black dress that hugged her hips. Although the dress stopped at her knees, a lace overlay fell down to her ankles, her pale skin peeking through the material. I was surprised she dressed up for this, though she still sported her favorite boots.

There was an awkward greeting as I presented her with the flower, in which the sneer on her lips never faded. Now we were sitting in a booth across from each other, toying with our food.

"You look really pretty tonight." I spoke up, breaking the silence finally, and inwardly cringed at how anxious my voice sounded to me. I watched Jade's eyes snap up to meet mine. They were like ice.

"What, do I usually look hideous? Why did you bother asking me out then?" My brows raised, disappearing under the dark curtain of my hair as my eyes widened. I hadn't expected _that_ reaction.

"Uhh..no..I mean yes..I mean...You always look pretty, I just..Honestly, I was just trying to get a conversation started." I shrugged, twirling pasta around my fork. I never brought it to my mouth though, my focus on the girl across from me. Her expression softened somewhat. "Anyway, what do you think of your classes? I think Sikowitz is my favorite, despite how insane he is."

"Why _did_ you ask me out?" She stopped stabbing her plate and fixed me with a hard stare. It was absent of her usual malice, her expression smooth, blank. I was thrown off by the question. Hadn't I already made that obvious?

"I like you."

"Why?" My brows furrowed as I pulled my lips in, studying her. She seemed honestly confused as to why I, or anyone, would be remotely interested in her. Leaning forward in my seat, I reached across the table for her hand, but she pulled hers back. It was then that I noticed a shadow flicker in the deep blue pools of her gaze. Sadness, fear, insecurity. I was starting to understand why she was so cold to everyone.

"What's not to like?" I offered a sincere smile, and for the first time I saw one reflected back at me, genuine and sweet. It only lasted for a moment, but it was enough to make my heart quicken in my chest. I looked down, just to make sure it didn't leap out onto the table.

At the end of the night, we stood waiting on the curb for her ride. When it arrived, I opened the door to the backseat for her and she paused before getting in. She turned to me, and with an air of indifference, she spoke.

"You're taking me out again next weekend, and the weekend after. You'll keep taking me out, until you get it right." She shrugged, getting in. I shut the door after her, chuckling, but then the window rolled down. "Also, I _don't_ do flowers. D minus." She tossed the rose at my feet. The top had been cut clean off. Bewildered, I watched her car drive off and disappear into traffic.

(**January**)

A few months passed and I guess you could say Jade and I were unofficially official. She had even started sitting with my friends and me at lunch. At first, she was a complete gank to them, but now she wasn't _too_ terrible...most of the time. She still had her moments though. I mean, she _is_ Jade West. We got to the point where I could give a look, or simply say her name, and she would stop whatever behavior was rubbing people the wrong way. She wouldn't apologize, but at least she wasn't making it worse.

One day, I was spending some time at home, alone, reading through a script for a new play Sikowitz was hosting at school, when the window to my room flew open and in crawled Jade. She looked a mess. The dark liner she usually wore was smudged around her eyes. I could tell she'd been crying. Right now, she just looked agitated.

After getting over the initial shock, I stood, crossing the room, and immediately pulled her into my arms. She was rigid, her nails digging into my shoulders as she held me back. I could tell she was trying to keep whatever composure she had left. There was no sound, no quaking of her body, but I did feel a warm moisture starting to seep through my shirt.

"Jade..what's going on?" My voice was barely above a whisper, afraid to startle the fragile creature standing before me. Suddenly, she shoved me away, causing me to fall back onto my bed. I guessed she didn't want me to see her wipe away the tears, because when I looked up, her back was to me.

"My parents are splitting up." She spat it out, like something rotten in her mouth. I remained on the bed, even though all I wanted was to hold her again. "My father's leaving her for his secretary. How cliche is that?!" She released a humorless laugh, shaking her head. "God, I hate them. All of them!"

With a sigh, I sat up and reached forward, trying to draw her to me by her elbow. She snatched her arm away from me. "I don't want to see you anymore. I'm bored of it." My mouth fell open as I felt something squeeze my heart in a vice grip. Snapping my jaw closed, I shook my head.

"You don't mean that.." At that, she spun around to face me, that famous glare tossing daggers straight into my gut. It was all a mask though.

"Don't I? You're a terrible boyfriend. You can't do anything right, and you _don't_ make me happy! Besides, I'm sick of seeing girls hang off you all the time! You're just another pretty boy, waiting for the next girl to come along!" I didn't bother trying to hide the hurt I felt at those words. They were just words, but Jade always knew just what to say to break a person.

"Jade, why are you even here if you don't want to see me anymore?!" Pushing myself off the bed, I stepped up to her. I was visibly fuming, not because I believed her, but because I knew she was lying. Before she could answer, I grabbed her by her arms and brought her close, searching her eyes. "Why are you trying to push me away? I'm not like your father. I'm not like either of them."

I had learned through observation that her parents didn't really seem to care about Jade much, unless it was to use her against each other. I watched as Jade's act began to crumble. That was all I needed to crash my lips against hers. She pushed against me at first, but I trapped her there, in that moment. My arm snaked around her waist, my hand getting lost in her hair as she relaxed and began kissing back. Her own hands fisted in my hair, pulling roughly, but I ignored it. She was crying again. I could taste her tears, but that didn't stop me from unleashing all of my unspoken feelings on her.

We had to separate eventually though, gasping for air. She looked up at me with the eyes of a broken and lost little girl, her hand cupping my cheek. It was moments like that, moments where I glimpsed the hidden parts of herself, that made me love her. "I love you.." My words hung suspended between us as I watched her eyes widen in shock and then melt. It was rare, but I saw joy in her glistening pools. I also saw pain. At the time, I thought it was because of her home life. I wouldn't understand until much later, that it was because of me.

"I love you too.."

(**March**)

"I thought your mom said you couldn't do this." We stood inside a grungy tattoo parlor, studying the walls. They were filled with hundreds of pieces to choose from. On one wall was a board full of photos of satisfied customers, displaying the best commissions they'd done.

"She did. But, I'm doing it anyway." Jade threw a smirk in my direction before walking over to the glass case to peruse the jewelry. "I think I might get my eyebrow done too." She pointed to a small stud. "That one." The employee quickly retrieved it and a silver barbell for jade's brow.

"You're gonna be soooo grounded." I sighed heavily, shaking my head. This only seemed to please her more, a wide grin stretching her face. Sometimes, she reminded me of that cat from Alice in Wonderland. The process took all of twenty minutes to get done. She made _me_ pay for it. After dropping her off at home, I went back to my place. I was strumming my guitar when she sent me a text. It was a picture of her with a triumphant smile, her mom yelling in the background. It was captioned. '_Grounded for two months_.' I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, and tossed my phone next to me. It beeped again five minutes later.

**Babe**: _Be there in thirty minutes. ;)_

I just laughed and continued to play until Jade knocked at my window.

(**May**)

"No way."

"Babe, Please?"

"NOOO!" My eyes rolled as I stood by Jade's locker, my arm resting against her neighbor's while I rubbed my forehead with the tip of my thumb. She shot a glare my way as she threw her books in carelessly.

"Just for an hour. Two, tops!" I pleaded, tossing my hands up before bringing my palms together, begging. She turned towards me, slamming her locker shut before folding her arms. "I _don't_ want to!" she protested. With a frustrated sigh, I rolled my head back before turning to trap her so she couldn't stomp away. "Jade, my parents just want to have dinner with you. As my _girlfriend_, it's the least you can do.." I fixed her with a stern stare. If begging wasn't going to work, I'd have to resort to other methods.

"Beck. I don't do parents. You know that." I watched her arms relax only slightly. Her lips remained pursed. She was losing her patience with me, but I could see her beginning to soften. I smiled, lowering my head to her neck as my lips brushed across her skin. "Pleeeaaase..?" I whispered in her ear, allowing my warm breath to tickle her. Her hands dropped to her sides as she fell back against the lockers with a soft sigh. It was a combination of pleasure and surrender. "Fine.." She muttered, glowering at me as I pulled back til our eyes met. I just grinned and brought my her lips to mine in a tender kiss.

Later that night, I picked Jade up. I had just gotten my license the week previously and Mom let me borrow her car. I convinced Jade to dress nice. She still looked like she was attending a funeral, but at least she had on heels instead of her worn-out stompers. When we pulled into my driveway, I put the car in park and got out, joining her at the front. My arm snaked around her waist and pushed her towards the front door.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Jade." I introduced the two after leading Jade into the kitchen. My mom was just finishing up dinner. She stopped what she was doing and turned to greet the girl on my arm with a warm smile.

"Jade, it's so nice to meet you, _finally_! Beck, dear, go set the table, would you?" I hesitated, glancing towards Jade who was sporting a look on her face like she had a bad taste in her mouth or something. "Uhh..yeah..Sure mom." I grabbed some dishes and turned towards the dining room. As I passed by Jade, I leaned down and hissed "Be.._nice_." to which she scoffed and I nudged her in the side with my elbow in reply.

"It's so nice to meet you too, Mrs. Oliver." I overheard Jade's delayed response behind me. It was dripping with forced sweetness. I cringed inside myself, hoping my parents wouldn't notice. Once the table was set and everyone sat down to dinner, it was surprisingly going well. We made small talk, while my Mother probed Jade about school, interests, and hobbies. I could see her growing increasingly more uncomfortable, but she managed to maintain a polite atmosphere. I smiled, proudly watching her handle the situation so well. But then..

"What was _that_ look for?" My fork fell to my plate with a clatter as the room went silent. Jade was giving my dad a cold stare, all pleasantries a distant memory. "Did I _offend_ you? I wasn't aware that my goals would disturb you so much!" My mom sat stunned. I would've worried she'd gone catatonic, if I wasn't spiraling myself. My dad gave a singular dry laugh, shaking his head. "What?! Do I _amuse_ you?!" Jade jumped up from her seat and I reached for her hand. She slapped mine away.

"I just think you kids are setting yourselves up for disappointment. You'd be better off focusing on something more concrete than chasing fame and fortune. Very few people actually achieve it, and believe me, I've seen what fame can do to people!" My dad pushed his plate away as he met my girlfriend's glare with one of his own. His mouth had formed a hard line. '_Great.._'

"Well guess what?! You're not my father!" Jade screamed back, picking up her plate and throwing the food at him. My mom gasped, my dad ducked, and I jumped up to grab her wrist. "JADE!" She finally looked up at me, her eyes filled with accusations. Another minute of stunned silence passed around the room before Jade snatched her arm away from me.

"I'm leaving."

"That's probably for the best." My father responded sternly. I watched Jade stomp towards the door before shooting my dad a look. "Don't look at me like that! That girl is unstable. I don't think you should see each other anymore!" Even though I knew Jade's behavior tonight was wrong, I could only blame myself. I knew her. I knew how she could be around other people and I forced her into a situation that she wasn't comfortable with from the very beginning.."Well, unfortunately for _you_, that's not your decision to make." I spat back before running after her.

"Jade! JADE, Wait! STOP!" I kept calling after her as she walked briskly down my driveway and turned down the street. When I finally caught up to her, I threw my arms around her, trying to trap her in my embrace. She screamed, kicking at my shins with her heels. I groaned, clenching my jaw against the pain. I'd likely have bruises tomorrow.

"LET ME GO!"

"NO!" She continued to struggle against me, but I was relentless. Several minutes passed until I felt her sag. We crumbled to the ground, resting on our knees. Even then, I kept her in my arms as she bowed over, crumbling into broken sobs. There was a similar stinging in my own eyes, but I pushed that away, shhhing her as I stroked her hair. My other arm still held onto her waist. We stayed like that for a while longer before she finally turned and pressed in against my chest.

"I'm sorry.." she whispered, her gaze refusing to meet mine.

"Me too.." I lifted her chin, forcing her, before bringing her lips to mine in a watery, salty kiss.

(**June**)

"I never go in the ocean." The gang and I were at the beach. It was the first week of summer vacation and I dragged Jade along with us, much to her displeasure. We sat in my truck, watching our friends splash around in the water. Cat was screaming as Andre and Robbie picked her up and threw her. "Why not?" I asked, looking over to her.

"I'm not telling you. I just don't, okay?"

"Well..maybe I'll make you." I grinned mischievously, but she just gave me a cold stare in return.

"I'm serious.."

Sighing, I reached over, my hand clasping hers. I continued to watch her while my thumb brushed over the back of her hand. "Well, why? You're not afraid of water, cause you go swimming at my house all the time." She didn't say or do anything for the longest time. An awkward tension started to build between us. "You'll laugh.." She mumbled suddenly.

"No I won't."

"Yes, You will!" Her gaze snapped to me, throwing accusations at me, as if I was already doing just that. "No..I won't. Just tell me. I promise." She pressed her lips together, hard, debating whether she could believe me or not. Then she heaved a sigh and turned to watch our friends again. "Fine. When I was three, my family took me to the ocean for the first time and...a dolphin attacked me." I blinked, staring at her.

"A dolphin? Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! It came up and started screaming at me! Then it kept poking me and splashing me with water!"

"Maybe it was just being friendly.." I suggested, hoping that would somehow make her feel better. She was adamant about it though. A dolphin attacked her. I'm sure she misinterpreted it but i was in no mood to argue the point. "Okay fine. So we won't go in the water, okay? We'll just hang out on the beach. Tan a little."

"Oh, so now you don't like my skin tone?! Well, Sorry for being too ghostly for you! I didn't realize you've been comparing me to Casper!" And with that, she jumped out of the truck and slammed the door behind her. I just watched her storm off across the sand in stunned silence. '_I didn't say that!_'

(**October**)

"Ooh, I love this part!"

"You've said that five times in the last forty minutes."

"Shhh!" Jade throws her hand up against my mouth while her eyes remain glued to the scene playing out on my laptop. Her other hand is buried in a bowl of popcorn, consistently shoving the buttery treat into her mouth. We were outside, sitting on the ground with a blanket spread out beneath us. I glanced over and narrowed my eyes. The only light around was emanating from the monitor. It gave her pale features a ghostly glow that was eerily beautiful.

While Jade watched the girl on screen get sliced from bellybutton to jugular, shrill screams playing over the speakers, I took advantage of the distraction. My mouth parted before I closed my teeth over a piece of skin. She immediately snatched her hand away, rubbing her palm.

"Beck! What the hell?!" I broke into a fit of laughter and she tossed a handful of popcorn at me. "Hey! Hey! Oh is that how you wanna play it?" I reached over, grabbing some in my hands and started tossing the popped kernels into her hair. Jade's face lit up with a smile so rarely seen, even more so when it's not just the two of us. She jumped up and ran away from me with the bowl. I quickly followed and we chased each other around the cemetery, laughing.

It was Halloween night and although I don't particularly find cemeteries romantic, I knew in Jade's twisted world view, she'd love it, so I surprised her with a midnight date among the dead. And like every Halloween, we were having a Scissoring Marathon. That was the plan anyway, until I incited a popcorn war.

I finally caught up to her when I cut her off as she ran around a tree. My arms wrapped around her waist, trapping her there. She gave a small, playful shriek that was so unjade like, I stopped laughing for a second. A warm smile tugged at my lips as my chest swelled with this..fuzzy feeling I was quickly getting addicted to. I bent down, burying my face against her neck, causing a giggle to bubble up past her lips. Smirking, I parted my lips playfully, biting down on her tender flesh where her shoulder met her neck. She gasped.

"What are you, a vampire?" She teased and I could hear the smirk in her playful sarcasm.

"Hmm..If anyone's a vampire, it's you." I muttered, my lips and warm breath tickling her skin. She shivered in my embrace and I teased her with another bite, kissing up and down her neck. I was sucking on trapped flesh when she nudged me urgently.

"Hmn What?" I groaned, slightly disappointed that my fun was interrupted. She shhed me and dipped her head towards the cemetery entrance. There was a flashlight coming our direction. 'Shit!' I released her and we ran, scrambling back to our things. She grabbed her bag and the picnic basket while I snatched up the blanket and laptop. Together, we ran from the grounds, exiting out the side entrance.

Jade and I disappeared around the corner and threw everything into the bed of my truck. Once we were safely inside the cab, we sat there, catching our breath. As we gasped for air, I looked over and her eyes met mine. We stared at each other for a few seconds before both of us doubled over in a fit of laughter. I don't know how long we stayed like that, chuckling until we we were red in the face and tears were in our eyes. When the amusement died down and we finally gained control of ourselves, I started the truck and peeled away, joining traffic on the way home.

"Jade, why do you hate Halloween?" I had always thought she'd love the holiday, considering her predisposition to all things morbid and creepy. She gave me a look as though I should've already known the answer and I was stupid for asking such a question. It softened a moment later though as she peered thoughtfully out the passenger window. "I guess..I like being different..you know, Unique? But on Halloween, I feel like I can't be myself because everyone else is conforming to what I usually am all year round."

We pulled to a stop at a traffic light and watched as several little kids were lead across the road by some exhausted looking adults. Jade sneered. "Plus, I hate kids. They're sticky and annoying, and on Halloween they're inescapable. Worst of all, they demand candy from me!" I roll my eyes. It's such a classic Jade answer, but as I glance over at her from time to time, to watch her rant about all the things she hates, I can't help but think…'God, I love her..'

(**December**)

"Jade, I don't know if that's such a great idea.."

"Well I'm not exactly _thrilled_ to go to Canada either, but there is _NO WAY_ I'm letting you go there alone." I was sitting on her bed, watching Jade pace around the room and occasionally throw something into the open suitcase next to me. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I won't be alone.."

"Family doesn't count, Beck. I have to let you go for most of the summer, but I'm not going to let you run off and flirt with those girls!"

"What girls?!" I asked incredulously, my brows furrowed and mouth agape. I liked to tease Jade from time to time, but occasionally her jealousy goes a bit far and kind of ticks me off. This was quickly becoming one of those times..

"_Those_ girls! Canadian girls who are all sickeningly sweet like they were born with maple syrup in their veins!" She turned towards me, her eyes hard and her mouth pinched in frustration. I sighed. Then her expression changed. It softened, her brows furrowed and I could see the worry in her gaze. Stepping closer to me, she draped her arms around my neck. Reluctantly looked up to meet her stare. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, she'd always do something to redeem herself and I'd roll over.

"I don't know Jade..The last time you met my family, it didn't go very well." I reminded her pointedly of the small family dinner a few months back.

"Yeah but, you have to admit, your dad's not exactly a peach either." She got me there. He could be just as stubborn as Jade..though maybe not as..violent about it. "Besides, I won't even try to socialize with your family. I'll just focus all of my attention on you." She smirked, leaning towards me. Then I felt her biting my earlobe and I groaned.

"Fiiiine.." My skin suddenly felt warm as I closed my eyes. I allowed myself to enjoy the light nibbles, before finally bringing her lips to mine for a deep kiss. We broke apart about a minute later to catch her breath. "You better behave yourself though.." I warned, sternly.

When we landed in Canada, Jade was already complaining as we got off our plane. The air was too cold, the people were too nice, and the money smelled like maple and felt like plastic. My parents were not thrilled that I brought her. I knew my mom wasn't a fan of Jade's either, but at least she still made an effort to be nice to her.

When I told my dad that Jade was coming with me, he spent a good hour yelling at me, which only caused me to yell back at him. Things ended with him telling me that I'd have to buy her ticket myself, because he definitely wasn't going to. I don't think he expected me to actually go through with it…

At Christmas, we usually get the whole family together. It's like a big reunion and we meet at my grandparents' house. Moose stops by too. In the past, he kept me company and I'd occasionally chase him away from my female cousins. But this year, I had Jade and Moose was busy with his own family so we didn't get to see each other. Besides, Jade was a handful herself. We weren't at grandma's for more than thirty minutes before she insulted my aunt, tripped my uncle, and terrorized my cousins until they cried. The rest of the trip, I kept her away from all family functions..


	6. Coffee Stains

Coffee Stains

Another year older and not any wiser. The gang and I were now in our sophomore year. Most, if not all of us, had our license. No more bus, whoo! Andre was a musical prodigy, Rob was still playing with dolls, Cat was still weird, and Jade was still a gank. But, she was my gank. I had moved out of the house and into an RV over the summer. I bought it, mostly on my own, using cash I'd earned working at a car wash. The rest, was supplied by my mom. She wasn't fond of the idea, but at least this way, my dad and I would stop arguing. Living under my own roof, I could live the way I wanted to. He still wasn't thrilled about my choices, but he knew he couldn't control me anymore either. It actually improved our relationship a bit.

For my sixteenth birthday, they took me to a dealership to pick out a car. I went with a pre-owned pick-up. It would be useful for hauling my RV, which I nicknamed the silver streak. Jade often spent the night over at my place, as she couldn't stand being at home with her mom. Her parents had shared custody, and her dad remarried, so Jade was constantly being passed back and forth. She technically lived with her mom the most, however, even if she didn't actually sleep there most nights. At this point, we were coming up on almost a year and seven months together.

For weeks, the school was buzzing with activity, because the big showcase was coming up. It always took place in early spring. Freshman were required to participate. The previous year, I was a backup dancer. Andre and Cat were the only ones taking part during our turn as sophomores. We had no idea what Cat had planned. Just when you think she might sing a solo, she decides to juggle fire instead. Andre was terrified of big audiences, despite his talent. That's why he usually lets others sing his songs while he plays in the band or sings backup. The problem was, he was short a vocalist.

"Man, what am I gonna do?! Jade, are you sure you don't want to sing in the showcase?" Andre sat with us at lunch, a tortured look in his eyes as he put his hands together, begging my girlfriend to save his hide. By the cheshire grin on her face, she was enjoying his despair too much to give in. I watched as she shook her head, leading to a defeated sigh from Dre.

"Hey dude, just ask one of the teachers to pair you up with someone." I offered up. I watched his eyes widen as he jumped up from his seat. Jade began to pout next to me, disappointed that I'd provided a solution to our friend's problem.

"That's a great idea!" And with that, Andre ran off, back into the school. I turned to Jade, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "So, I know we're not participating, but we can still go watch Andre and Cat perform. What time should I pick you up friday?"

"We're not going."

"We're not?" I glanced towards Cat and Robbie who were in the middle of discussing Cat's routine, before looking back to Jade, my brows knit together. She shook her head.

"Nope. You're taking me to get a tattoo." She said matter-of-factly, before taking a vicious bite out of her baby carrot.

"Um, can't that wait? And, I hope you're not doing this to waz off your mother again." Something about the glimmer in her eye told me she was. I sighed. "Fine…But, I'm not paying for it this time.."

After school, we usually met up in the Black Box theater for Drama club to practice the newest play, but with the preparations for the showcase, Sikowitz enlisted our help in setting up the stage, equipment, and decorations. We were already working on assigned tasks, when Andre lumbered in looking more defeated than he did at lunch. "Hey man, what's up?" I stopped tying the banner in place, stepping down off the ladder. Andre fell into a chair near the stage.

"Well..I took your advice.." he answered dully, with an edge of aggravation to it.

"And? .."

"And, they paired me up with Trina Vega!" He retorted, jumping up from his seat. His hands went to his hair as he began pacing up and down the aisle. I cringed. Trina Vega was probably the least talented girl in the school. How she even got accepted, no one really seemed to know. There were plenty of stories, but none of them matched up.

"Trina..? Isn't that the obnoxious Junior? Her voice sounds like a cat. Dying. Slowly." Jade came to stand next to me, her arm sliding around my waist as she parked her hand in my front pocket. I threw an arm over her shoulders.

"Yeah..that's her.." Andre collapsed into the nearest chair, sighing heavily. I peered at him sympathetically before Jade's laugh drew my attention. She looked delighted. I gave her a disappointed frown. She just shrugged and walked off. '_Ugh.._' Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Andre.

"Hey, I'm sorry man. At least, your half will sound good." I slapped my hand on his back, trying my best to cheer him up. He just slumped further in his seat, letting out a loud groan.

"Uuuggghhh!...I gotta go." With another heavy sigh, he got to his feet. "I'm supposed to go to her house for rehearsal.." Slinging his bag across his back, he headed for the door, only to stop and turn back. "If you don't hear from me in a couple hours..call the police." I just chuckled and watched him leave.

Friday night, while everyone was heading for the showcase, I was parking my truck outside the tattoo parlor. Jade and I climbed out. I stopped holding doors open for her ages ago. She always gripes at me that she can get it herself. She doesn't need a man to do everything for her. We spent a couple hours there as she worked out a design with the artist and then laid back in the chair. I listened to the constant buzz of the gun, scrolling through my phone while I waited. Our school had their own social media site called The Slap. I was checking out the recent posts and videos when I got a text.

**Dre**: _It's a miracle!_

I smirked, my eyebrows lowering when I read the message. '_What?_' I decided to text him back.

**Beck**: _Did Trina suddenly learn how to sing?_

**Dre**: _No, her tongue swelled up because of some funky Chinese thing._

**Beck**: _Then who's going to sing for you? Did you get over your stage fright?_

**Dre**: _I don't have stage fright! And her sister did._

I frowned. '_Trina has a sister? I don't remember any other Vegas at the school._' I was about to text him back, when Jade stepped up beside me, running her fingers through my hair. "Who are you texting?" She snapped, her tone accusatory. I sighed, getting to my feet and shoving my phone into my pocket.

"Just Andre. Trina couldn't perform tonight. Allergic reaction. Apparently she has a sister who filled in. According to Andre, she can actually sing and it went pretty well." I looked down at her arm which was covered with a white bandage. "You ready to go?" Jade seemed satisfied with my answer and I walked with her to the counter. She _still_ made me pay for it, despite what I said earlier in the week.

Jade kept me occupied for most of the weekend, so I decided I'd ask Andre about the showcase on Monday. That morning I got up early, like I always did when Jade was riding with me to school. I had to. Because if I waited too long, girls would start to gather in my yard, asking for rides. The last thing I needed was for Jade to get mixed up in that. There were a lot of things I loved about her. Her Jealousy was not one of them. Sure, sometimes it was fun to poke the bear, but I do wish she trusted me more.

I stopped at a coffee shop on the way to Jade's, ordering our usual in the drive-thru. When she hopped in, I leaned over for a kiss, but she just snatched up her coffee and started drinking it, so I pecked her on the cheek instead. I guess it was one of _those_ mornings..

We pulled into the school parking lot at around 7:45. That gave us enough time to head to our lockers and retrieve our books for morning classes. This year, our first class was with Sikowitz. "I'm gonna go find Andre." I gave Jade another peck on the cheek before walking off towards our Drama teacher's classroom. I whipped out my phone, sending a quick text to my best friend.

**Beck**: _Hey Man, you here yet? I wanted to ask you how the showcase went._

I looked up for a quick second. The room was already filling up with students and I didn't want to bump anyone on my way to a seat. A tuneful beep drew my eyes downward again. It was Andre.

**Dre**: _Yeah, I'll be there in a minute. I've got loads to tell you!_

My thumb brushed over the keyboard when my body hit something solid. The coffee cup in my hand tipped and spilled all down the front of my shirt. My jaw clenched to suppress the groan that was clawing its way up my throat due to the burning of my flesh.

"Ah!"

"Oh! Hey!" I exclaimed, looking down at the puddle that was now seeping into the carpet. I recognized the obstacle as a person when I noticed the stain spreading towards our feet.

"Oh, my gosh!" I didn't recognize the concerned voice. We were both surveying the damage and I started to laugh as the burn began to fade away. Looking up, my eyes locked onto a pair of chocolate warmth. '_Woah.._'

"Ahh…" I looked back down to my shirt, reminding myself to breathe. "It's cool-" I added, shaking my head. A small smile tugged at my lips.

"No, Here.." She stepped closer, grabbing the end of her sleeve and using it to rub up and down my front. A sweet scent reached my nose, drowning my senses while my stomach went into free-fall. She smelled like summer blossoms and fresh apples. "I think it's coming out.." She added frantically.

"You..might be making it worse, actually." My face split into a grin as I watched the stain spread. We both locked eyes again. My world melted away as I was struck breathless by her flawless visage. Her movements slowed and a part of me sensed she was experiencing a similar feeling; That feeling of time standing still. I caught myself holding my breath again, admiring her prominent cheekbones, and the way amber flecks danced in the warm brown of her gaze. It reminded me of the glow of embers. '_Who is this girl?_'

"Dude! Why are you rubbing my boyfriend?" '_Oh…' _I fell back to earth, the smile wiped from my face when I suddenly became aware of the fact that _I_ was the boyfriend in question. '_Ohhh crap_' I thought, turning to look over my shoulder at Jade. There was a familiar territorial look in her eyes. The mystery girl in front of me took a step back, stuttering an explanation.

"I just..I spilled coffee on-" she began, gesturing towards my ruined shirt, but Jade interrupted.

"Get away from him." My _girlfriend_ swept her hand to the side, adding emphasis to her words. Sensing her anger brewing, I decided to try to pacify her, disengaging from the new girl and stepping towards Jade.

"Relax.." I murmured, smiling as I reached up to cup her cheek and press my lips to her temple. I walked past her then, towards my usual seat. Jade continued to stare after the other girl, likely planning something devious, before joining me. Before anyone could sit down, however, Sikowitz burst in through the other door.

"Oh my god! There's a HUGE fire!" Panic filled the room. I reached for Jade and started pushing her towards the exit as people around us screamed and rushed towards the door as well. "Kidding! Kidding!" Our teacher hollered over noise, waving his arms to gain our attention. Slowly, the class began to settle down. We all looked at him with the same confused and incredulous expression. "Just wanted to get your blood pumping..which I did! Ha!" He gave a victory thrust. '_This crazy man is going to be the death of me!_' I thought. He was right though, my heart was still pounding away in my chest.

"Alright! Now, let's get started! Rumps in Chairs!" Sikowitz closed the door as we all started to take our seats. I watched him step onto the stage, shoe-less as usual, and toss his bag off into the corner. I didn't notice Andre enter the classroom but he sat down in front of me next to the new girl.

"He's our teacher?" I heard her whisper to Andre. I actively tried not to stare at the back of her head. Her hair looked so silky, I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through it…'_Ahh! Focus!_' I snapped my attention back to Sikowitz, throwing an arm around Jade who always sat next to me.

"Okay, First! I'd like to introduce our new student, Tori.." Sikowitz gestured to the girl in front. I watched her look around with a shy smile and tossed my hand up in a wave. I don't know why. She didn't turn my way, so she didn't even see it. I felt Jade tense beside me and fold her arms tightly across her chest. "And I'd like to thank Tori for her generous gift of two dollars, which she handed me outside this morning." Sikowitz added. He reached into a pocket, producing the folded bills and showing it off to the rest of the class. "Not necessary, but much appreciated! Hm?" I caught myself looking at Tori again, a bemused expression on my face. Andre asked her what we were all thinking.

"Why'd you give him two dollars?"

"I thought he was homeless!" she hissed under her breath. My gaze traveled back and forth between the two, inwardly smiling at her response. I probably would have thought the same thing, if I hadn't met the man at my audition. Andre's familiar exchanges with tori left me wondering if they already knew each other. A faint gnawing sensation settled in my stomach.

"Now, today, we are going to continue our group study in Improv. Tori!" Sikowitz turned to our newest classmate and continued. "I assume you're familiar with improv?"

"No." My eyebrows rose in reaction to her curt answer. '_Fresh meat, huh? I wonder what she got accepted for_'

"Okay, Crash course! Improv, acting without a script, which means the actors must make up their own actions and dialogue as they perform the scene. Understood?" I heard Tori start to ask a question but Sikowitz cut her off. "Excellent! Jade!" I looked over as Jade pushed off her seat, my hand stroking her back as she walked away. "You will captain the first group of the day. Choose your Actors!" My arm came to rest on the back of her empty chair as she stepped up on stage. She pointed to each person, calling their name aloud.

"Ahh..Cat, Eli, Beck.." I stood up, adjusting my shirt as I walked towards the stage. "And Tori.." My step only faltered for a second. I felt my pulse quicken, my eyes darting towards Tori and back to Jade, curious and suspicious. '_She wouldn't pull anything in class, would she? She probably just wants to make Tori look bad._' I tried to quell my apprehension.

"Okay, let's give em a place." Sikowitz Suggested.

"Home!" answered Robbie.

"Home!"

"Ooh, real creative.." retorted Rex, Robbie's puppet. "You be quiet!" My nerdy friend hissed back, then promptly slapped himself with the doll's hand. "Ow!"

"And now we need a situation."

"Big news."

"Andre, nobody wants to see big nudes.." '_WHAT?!_ _Are teachers even allowed to say that?_'

"NEWS!"

"Ah, well that's different! Big News!" Sikowitz went over to add it to the board.

"Uh, why don't you go wait in the hall?" I eyed Jade again, as she walked over to Tori and gestured towards the door. My worry started to grow, my eyebrows lowering. Tori just agreed and stepped just out. She didn't seem suspicious at all. And why should she? She didn't know how Jade could get sometimes, but I did...

"And Action!" Shaking off my nerves, I stepped up onto the stage. Jade turned towards me, her disposition cheery as she greeted me.

"Hey, babe, how was work today?" Still preoccupied with my thoughts, I ran my fingers through my hair and quickly thought of a retort.

"Uhh..I got..fired?" Jade feigned disappointment, tossing her hands up as Ian..our _Son_, I guess, spoke up in a whiny voice.

"Again?!"

"It's okay! I have great news that'll cheer up this whole family!" Jade stepped off the stage, heading towards the door. I supposed this was when she'd pull Tori into the skit. We all murmured our interests. My palms were starting to sweat. I just knew this wasn't going to go well. With Jade, it never does. "I went to the animal shelter and got us" She was guiding Tori onto the stage by her shoulder, looking a little too gleeful, even if acting. "A Dog!" '_And there it is.._' I sighed inwardly.

I could plainly see the tension on Tori's face. She was growing more uncomfortable with the whole situation, but I was impressed that she was at least trying, despite Jade's taunts. "Uhh, Yep..I'm the new family dog...Woof." Jade broke character then, turning towards our teacher. I cleared my throat nervously, shoving my hands into my pockets.

"Sikowitz, will you please tell this _amateur_ that dogs can't talk, and that they don't walk on two legs?" I folded my arms across my chest then, a twinge of anger shooting threw me as she openly insulted the new girl. Calling her an amateur was uncalled for. Instead of saying anything, however, I looked to our teacher. The man didn't respond, his mouth on one end of a coconut. He didn't seem to be paying attention. "Sikowitz!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was sucking the milk out of this coconut. But it's true.." He eyed Tori. "Tori, if you're going to play a dog, be a dog." I was sympathetic towards Tori as she got down on her hands and knees and barked for the class. She was clearly not having the best first day. I smiled at her team spirit, though.

"And Action!" We all got back in character, starting with Jade's last line. Eli and Cat ran over to Tori and began petting her. I couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping my lips as I watched the scene unfold before me. It was a little amusing..

"Uh-oh, looks like this dog has bugs in her fur.." Whatever tension had finally left my body swiftly returned after hearing Jade's next line. Did she really have to go there? Tori was visibly growing more irritated with my girlfriend's antics. But she still didn't break character..

"Uhhh..Woof?"

"Aw, it's okay. I read on the internet.." My body turned towards Jade as she walked off the stage to one of our classmates, gabbing the drink from his hand. "That Coffee works great for getting rid of fur bugs." I held up a hand to try and dissuade her from doing anything further.

"Maybe you shouldn't, umm..." I swallowed, my heart hammering against my rib cage as she just walked by me, without acknowledging my efforts. Andre called out to her as well, his tone carrying a warning. A hush fell over the class, all of us aware that this was no longer a simple acting exercise. Tori was the only one caught unawares as Jade pulled the top off and slowly poured the beverage over her head.

It felt like a boulder dropped into my stomach. I stood by helplessly as the iced coffee spilled down over the new girl's face and into her clothes. Her Jaw dropped open and when the last of the ice cubes clattered to the floor, she jumped up. Tori turned towards Jade, speechless. There was a readable question in her eyes, however. '_Why?_'. "What's the prob..._Dog_?" Though Jade's tone was innocent, her eyes narrowed threateningly.

I watched Tori's eyes tighten and gloss over, hurt making her face crumple as she ran from the classroom. That twinge of anger I felt earlier returned, tenfold, as I watched Jade's mouth twist into a satisfied smirk. The whole class was stunned. Even Mr. Sikowitz. Andre jumped up, shaking his head. "That was too far.." He muttered, running out the door after the new girl. I wanted to follow. I wanted to make sure she was alright, but if I did, it would only make matters worse. Instead, I bit my tongue, my gaze meeting Jade's.

'_We'll talk about this later._' I promised, wordlessly. She shrugged innocently. The shock finally wore off as the class erupted into a whirlwind of chatter. "Enough!" Sikowitz's stern voice rang out, eliminating the excitement as he stepped up to the stage. "Jade, see me after class. Everyone, take your seats." We all lumbered back to our chairs. I dropped into mine, Jade returning to her place beside me. This time, however, I leaned away from her, arms folded.

"Robbie, go fetch Andre and Tori." Usually Sikowitz was pretty laid back. He was the kind of teacher you could be friends with. Right now, his demeanor was different. The disappointment and barely controlled anger, reminded me of my dad. Robbie jumped up, rushing out the door. "Actually, Cat, go with him. I have a feeling he won't be any help.." With that, the bubbly redhead ran after Rob. Even Cat's carefree personality was downcast after _that_ debacle.

Everyone sat in silence. The tension was so thick in the room, it was suffocating. People kept shooting nervous glances towards Jade, who acted like nothing was wrong, picking at her nails. I was still simmering next to her, staring at Tori's empty chair. Robbie returned a few minutes later, sans Andre, Cat, and Tori. Dre stepped in a minute or so after that, looking dejected. I glanced at Jade before pulling out my phone to send a quick text to Andre, just as Cat returned.

**Beck**: _Where's Tori?_

I waited a second before Dre pulled his own phone out. He knew better than to look back. Jade would think something's up. So, he typed out a message before tucking the device away.

**Dre**: _Tell you later._

"Andre, Where's Tori?" Sikowitz asked sternly. Dre, looked up, startled. He glanced around before getting up from his seat, and leaned in to whisper something to the teacher. Sikowitz sighed, bobbed his head up and down and gestured back towards Andre's seat. The rest of the lesson passed slowly. I kept glancing at the clock. Thankfully, Sikowitz didn't call on me for anymore skits. When the bell rang, I jumped up from my chair and followed Andre out. Jade stayed behind to talk to Sikowitz.

"Hey, Wait up!" I caught Andre by the shoulder, turning him around as we reached our lockers. They were right next to each other. "What happened when you guys left?" For a second, Andre's eyes hardened, almost accusatory. But then he sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry man..but you need to control your girlfriend better." He turned toward his locker, playing out the musical code before swinging it open. "Tori left. She called her mom. And I don't know if she's coming back." '_What?_' My jaw fell open slightly, brows knitting together.

"What?" The word tumbled from my lips with a gust of air I didn't realize I was holding. Andre just gave me a weird look, his shoulders lifting. "She said she wants to go back to her old school. I tried to convince her to stay. I guess we'll see." With that, he closed his locker. I followed him down the hall.

"Wait!" I called, falling into step beside him. "How do you know her? I _know_ you didn't just meet her today." Dre raised an eyebrow at my tone. It sounded...jeal-No! Not that. Definitely not that.

"Uhh..Well, remember when I told you Trina's sister filled in at the showcase?" I snapped from my inner musings and shared an affirmative bob of my head. "Well, that was her." My face remained clueless as I waited for him to clarify. What was he getting at? Andre sighed heavily, stopping outside his next class. "Her _name_ is Tori **Vega**."

'_Ohhhhh...wait..What?!_' I blinked, eyes widening. "That was Trina's sister? Is she adopted?" Before Andre could answer, the bell rang and we parted ways. I let him enter his classroom before running across the school to reach mine. I had algebra two this period. My mind remained preoccupied for most of the day. Even at Lunch, I sat quietly, pushing my food around the plate. Jade didn't talk to me. She could tell I wasn't in the mood.

When school let out, I waited for her by my truck. I must have waited for half an hour before she strolled over. "I'm going over to Cat's. I'll text you later." Before I could protest, she walked off toward the corner with our mutual friend. I was _seething_. She always did this! Every time I wanted to talk about her behavior, she'd make some excuse to avoid me at all costs! It was alright for her to yell at me, going so far as to break into my RV just to argue, but when the tables were turned? Noooo, of course not! Hopping into my truck, I slammed the door shut and drove home, blasting my radio.

My evening didn't go much better. I kept mulling over the morning in my mind. Hot coffee, brown eyes, cheekbones. My anger slowly dissipated as I try to recall the details of her face. She had this flawless complexion, not unlike Jade's, but kissed by the sun. When she looked down, her dark eyelashes brushed the tops of her prominent cheeks. And her eyes..Her eyes were a warm chocolate with flecks of gold peeking through, like the summer sun glinting off mahogany wood. Then there was her smile, sweet and humble. I caught myself wondering what her lips would taste like.

"Uugghh.." I groaned, rolling onto my side on my bed. My hand reached for the remote to switch on my TV in the hopes of drowning out my thoughts. I had a girlfriend, who I loved. '_I can't think about another! I **shouldn't** think about another._' It worked for a little while as I allowed the mind-numbing entertainment to steal my attention. It was dark outside when I shut it off. I joined my mom for dinner, telling her about my day. I skipped over the drama. After cleaning up for her, I retreated back to my home on wheels.

Collapsing onto my bed, I reached for my phone. There was only one new message. It was from Jade. She informed me she would be riding to school with Cat tomorrow. '_I guess she decided to spend the night. Whatever._' I was in no mood to deal with her anyway. I started scrolling through the slap, looking for any new posts. There was one that caught my eye. A video popped up on my feed. I recognized the decorations from the showcase. My thumb tapped the play icon, and Tori appeared.

My breath caught in my throat as she sang and danced across my screen. Her voice was _amazing_. She was a pretty good dancer, as well. My teeth dug into my bottom lip, eyeing the short, glittering dress she had on. My eyes followed every movement across the stage; the shake of her hips, the swing of her slender arms, and don't get me started on her legs. They went on for miles. When the video ended, I closed my eyes, trying to shake her from my mind again. "What are you doing to me..?" I muttered aloud.

I didn't sleep easy that night and woke up to the blaring of my alarm clock. Ripping it from the socket, I threw the thing across the room before rolling myself out of bed. Stumbling to the bathroom, I peered into the mirror, rubbing sleep from my eyes. There were shadows under them. I looked terrible. I hopped in the shower, hoping it would wake me up a bit more.

Within an hour, I was on my way to school. It was still a bit early when I got there, so I stopped at the drink cart in the cafe and ordered myself a double shot of espresso. Then, I cornered Jade by her locker. "What was up with that stunt you pulled yesterday?" She stiffened, slamming the door of her locker shut. It was covered in scissors. I was surprised the school allowed it. Having that many scissors should be considered a weapon.

"Well, hello to you too." She pursed her lips, her gaze guarded and narrowed. "I could ask you the same thing." She hissed. I looked at her incredulously.

"Me?! What did I do?" '_besides think about her, and watch her video half a dozen times. Gah! I feel so guilty.._'

"Nothing." When I didn't catch her meaning, she elaborated. "You just stood there while she rubbed herself all over you! _I'm_ your girlfriend, or did you forget?" I released a heavy sigh, my eyes rolling towards the ceiling. '_I did forget..I'm a terrible person._' I pushed my guilt to the back of my mind before addressing her. I was still made about how Jade handled things yesterday. '_Besides, it's not like I acted on anything._'

"Jade, she was just trying to clean up the mess she made. It was an _accident_. What you did, however, was completely uncalled for." I clenched my jaw, jabbing my finger in her direction. She stepped back, but cemented her resolve as her chin jut upward and her arms folded.

"Why do you even care, Beck?" She growled, her eyes stabbing me with accusations. The bell rang, and I threw my hands up, turning away from her. She followed me to class, at a distance. I decided to sit next to Cat today, leaving Jade to grab the chair behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, watching her arms fold, effectively walling herself off. Then I slumped back in my seat, my posture relaxed. Sikowitz was actually on time for once, and was waiting for everyone to get seated.

Ten minutes into class, the door opened and all heads turned to see none other than Tori Vega walk in. She seemed guarded, avoiding eye contact, as Sikowitz turned away from the board. "Tori..you're back." You could hear the surprise in his voice. I think we were all feeling it. After yesterday, we didn't think she'd return. I was honestly impressed..and maybe even a little thrilled. I caught a glimpse of Jade in my peripheral. She looked shocked and wazzed off. Not many people face Jade's wrath and come back, seemingly unfazed.

"Have you ever thought about coming in through the window?"

"No..?"

"Think about it.." Sikowitz gestured towards the empty chair in the back. "Now, sit, sit." I watched Tori, trying to fight the smile that tugged at my lips. I succumbed to it, turning my gaze to the floor with a smirk. '_I can't believe she came back..Tougher than she looks_' "Okay, today, we're going to do some alphabetical improv. What is alphabetical improv, you ask? So, I answer.." Those of us who took his class last year, already knew, but we listened anyway. "It's when we give a letter to the first actor who speaks in a scene. If we used the letter 'A' as an example, then the actor must make his first word start with the letter 'A'..which might go something like.." He gestured to me. Startled, I let the first word that popped into my head spill out, followed by the rest like a waterfall of nonsense.

"Apples are falling out of my butt." I stated it with conviction, and tried not to think of the weird look the new girl might be giving me, as a grin split my face. Sikowitz continued with a deadpan expression.

"Lovely..Now, the next actor who speaks must start his line with the next letter in the alphabet. In this case, 'B', so he might say…" He walked up behind Andre and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Bring those apples, so that we may all enjoy the fresh fruit from Beck's butt." I turned in my seat as Andre gave his retort, my eyes falling on Tori behind him. She was smiling. It left a weird feeling inside me. I was glad to see she was enjoying herself, though.

"Charming..Now, who wants to lead the first group?"

"I do." Surprised, we all looked over our shoulders as Tori sat up, confidence emanating off of her. '_Huh, Interesting.._'

"Alright, Tori. Choose your actors."

"Okay.." I leaned forward intently as Tori stepped up onto the raised platform. Sikowitz moved off to the side. "Andre..Cat.." I really wanted her to pick me, though I couldn't tell you why. My palms were starting to sweat as I waited for her to call my name. '_Beck. Say Beck._' "Beck.." I shrugged off my jacket and jumped up as she looked around the room. "And Jade." '_What?_' I looked back, seeing jade raise her pierced brow. "Yeah, you." My gaze snapped back to Tori, hearing the bite in her voice. '_And she comes back swinging.._'

Jade followed me to the stage. She stepped up first then stopped, turning towards me. Her lips glued themselves to mine. Surprised, I lifted my hand to her shoulder, and hesitantly kissed her back. I felt her bite my bottom lip before she released me and left me staring up at her, dazed.

"Jade, kiss your boyfriend on your own time." Sikowitz announced, sounding utterly disturbed. Honestly, the display of PDA rubbed me the wrong way as well. I knew why she did it. It was like she was marking her territory, like I was her property. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my own skin. "Oh, I will." She retorted back with a proud smirk. "Okay, if you start your line with the wrong letter..Annh! You're out! Robbie, give us a letter." Sikowitz demanded.

"P!" '**Rex**' answered.

"P." Sikowitz pointed to us. "Awww, I was going to say p.." added Robbie. I'm kind of glad Tori didn't pick him.. "Okay, the scene can be about anything you want. The first letter of the first line is P. Tori, Action!"

I stood off to the side, my lips parted, brows furrowed while I waited for the girl's next move. She turned towards Jade and quipped "Please, go take a shower."

"Quit, telling me what to do." Jade barked back, her eyes getting that wild look about them. I decided to step in and try to deescalate the situation. "Relax girls, let's all try to get along.."

"Totally!"

"Annh! Cat, your line had to start with an S." Sikowitz signaled for the redhead to sit back down.

"Aww, my life's the worst!"

"Here's a piece of candy."

"Yay, I love candy!" We taught Sikowitz how to deal with her outbursts a long time ago. The bubbly girl bounced off to her seat and began to unwrap the treat.

"Alright, Andre, letter 'S' to you."

"Uhh..Somethin' just bit my toe!" We all tried to get our heads back in the game as we turned our attention to Andre. Tori jumped at a reply. "Turtle! That turtle just bit his toe." She pointed to his foot and looked to Jade and me for a response. Jade just rolled her eyes and brushed by her.

"Unbelievable that you're even here.."

"Very immature of you to say that." My anger was starting to rise again, as I stared my girlfriend down, an indignant smirk on my features. I saw her resolve crumble at my words, her own eyes widening in shock. Andre struggled to break the tension. "Uhhh…"

"C'mon Andre, 'W'!"

"Wh-what if the turtle bite broke my toe-bone?" He shared a look with Tori. She hesitated, though I don't blame her. X was a difficult letter to form into a word.

"X..rays are the only way to find out."

"You should shut up!" Jade didn't seem like she was going to back off, so I decided that for now, the best thing to do would be to ignore her and focus on the exercise. I gestured with my finger. "Zap! I just healed your toe with my magic finger."

"Thanks!"

"Andre, your line had to start with an 'A'. Sit down."

"Aww..and i just got my toe-bone fixed." We watched Andre drop into his chair before Sikowitz prompted us to continue.

"Aliens..are the only people who can heal toes by finger-zapping." Tori quickly recovered, looking to me for a response. Jade interjected. "By the way.." She stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry in Tori's direction. The girl just rolled her eyes. I continued to ignore Jade's childish behavior.

"Correct, I am an alien." I gestured towards myself and Tori gave a very believable gasp of surprise. I heard Sikowitz exclaim from the sidelines. "Oh a twist!"

"Don't hurt me! Please.." Tori stepped closer to me and we locked eyes. She was looking up at me with big sad eyes, pleadingly. It reminded me of a puppy. I fought a smile as Jade interrupted again. "Even though she's extremely _annoying_." I shot her a disapproving look. I was getting desperate to derail the antagonistic behavior.

"Fainting.." I swayed on the spot..behaving as though my body was weak and my mind cloudy. "Because I can't breathe your earth's air." I stumbled forward and fell to the floor. At least this would get me out of the middle of things, if anything.

"Gosh, it fainted!" That was Tori. She was trying to engage Jade. Maybe things would work out and they'd get through their differences. '_Yeah..right._' Sikowitz encouraged them to continue while I pretended to be passed out on the ground.

"Hey, why don't you go jump off that cliff over there?" I rolled my eyes.

"I think you should." '_woah.._' I think Tori caught us both by surprise then, my eyebrows shooting up. I could hear Jade's bite falter when she retorted with "Just, where did you come from?"

"Kangaroos."

"Lousy animals Kangaroos. They're awkward and dirty." '_I think Kangaroos are cute..though I hear they can be kind of vicious_'

"Maybe they learned from you." '_That would explain the vicious part.._' I was suddenly very happy I had chosen to 'faint', but Tori was impressing me more every time she opened her mouth. No one talks to Jade like that. I felt my lips tug into a smile. "No one talks to me like that." Jade hissed back, mimicking my thoughts.

"Obviously, someone should.." I silently agreed…

"Please run in front of a bus!"

"Quite obnoxious of you to say.."

"Really?"

"Sure was"

"Thaaaanks!" I could hear Jade starting to lose her resolve as she responded sarcastically.

"Up your nose, I see boogers."

"Very Clever."

"Wish you thought of it?"

"X marks the spot I'd like to punch!" I cringed, wondering if I should get up now and put a stop to things before it turned violent. I couldn't bring myself to stand though. I wanted to see what the new girl would do or say next.

"Your..finger smells weird!"

"_Zeeero_ is what you are on a scale from one to ten."

"As if I care what you think."

"Better watch yourself!"

"Can't take it?" As I could hear Jade's tough act starting to spiral out of her grasp, It seemed like Tori was only growing stronger and more confident the longer this went on. Her quips fired back at Jade with no hesitation.

"Don't push me!"

"Eat your pants!"

"You eat your pants! Wait!" My jaw dropped as Jade turned toward Mr. Sikowitz, realizing her mistake. I couldn't believe it! She _lost_..against _Tori_. I was still on the floor, so luckily no one noticed my reaction. I quickly rearranged my features into a passive mask. "Sorry Jade, the next letter was-" "F! I know!" Jade stomped off the stage as Sikowitz prompted us to continue.

"Get Up, Alien." I pushed myself up as I felt Tori's hands reach for my arm. There was a shock of electricity that ran between us when her skin came into contact with mine. She helped me to my feet and when I uttered my next line, I had to wonder if I was just acting..

"Head...feels dizzy.." I closed my eyes, stumbling, as her grip fell away from me. Okay, so I was mostly acting..still though..I felt all floaty.

"I know what'll make you feel better." Her air of confidence, followed by the playful glint in her eyes threw me off for a moment. My pulse started to race. "Jumping Jacks?" I asked, uncertainly.

"Kiss me." My breath caught in my lungs as I stared at her, taken aback. I thought about Jade and the events of yesterday. Another flash of anger struck me, but only briefly. Then my gaze fell to Tori's lips. '_It would knock Jade down a peg or two..and it's only a stage kiss.._'

"Let's do it.." I smirked, leaning towards her. My hand cupped her cheek as hers came to rest on my shoulder. Our lips touched and melted together. '_**Wow**_' I was struck by a singular thought, quickly becoming drunk on her scent, as I tasted her. She was sweet, like honeysuckle. There was that jolt of electricity again, now shooting through my entire being, exploding in a shower of sparks. It was enough to drive everyone and everything from my mind, at least for a moment. I don't know how long that moment was. When we separated, I glanced towards Jade from the corner of my eye and saw her livid face. I was definitely gonna hear about this later. Guilt started to gnaw at my subconscious.

"_Man_, I _love_ this school!" Hearing Tori exclaim, I grinned sheepishly and returned to my seat..


	7. Important Author's Note! PLEASE READ!

Sorry guys, this is not a chapter update. I will be getting one out to you guys soon, probably tomorrow. I just wanted to take a moment to talk to the few who are still reading this fic.

I've gotten a couple comments where people have expressed their support of certain pairings, and that's fine. If you're a Jade shipper or a Bori shipper, or even a Bandre or Bobbie, I don't care. Personally, I'm Bori all the way. However, as I have stated before, this fiction is following the events of the show almost exactly. I decided to write it because I wanted to put myself in Beck's mind and get a sense of who he is and what he's thinking/feeling. He says so little during the show. For a main character, he's almost like a background piece, and yet he's also one of the most interesting..and maybe that's because he's so reserved. I spend so much time, studying every tiny expression he makes in each episode to add to this story.

Now, because the story follows the same path as the show, Yes, there will be bori moments. I have to explore his growing feelings for her because whether you guys like it or not, he does try to kiss her during tori goes platinum. And he does spend a lot of time fighting with Jade, but he also cares about Jade. It's really hard for me to write bade moments, because of my preference, but I will write them. I'm trying my best. By the end of this story, Beck will end up with Jade. Now, if you guys decide that you don't want to sit through the enemy ships, then don't read my story. I'm tired of getting comments like "Bori's boring" Or "I don't want to get too invested if it's not Bade." It's not constructive at all.

So, in summery,

1\. Beck and Jade will fight.

2\. Beck will develop feelings for Tori

3\. Beck will pursue Tori

4\. Beck and Jade will end up together.

I am also warning you now, that I plan on writing a sequel that takes place in his college years, where he and Jade will break up for good. Because most high school relationships never last longer than that, especially when the couples fight as much as he and Jade do. So, read my story or don't. I don't care. I am writing this FOR ME. Reviews are much appreciated, but only if they're constructive criticism or supportive. Thank you.

The fact that I felt the need to say any of this at all, breaks my heart because I essentially have to spoil the endings for you all. For that, I'm sorry. I just needed to get this off my chest.


	8. The Bird Scene

**Disclaimer:** Just to remind everyone. I do not own Victorious or any of its characters.

The Bird Scene

A week had gone by since Tori's first day at school. Jade spent most of it directing animosity towards Tori and me. Although not quite as strongly, our mutual friends suffered it as well. That night, after the alphabet improv fiasco, Jade and I spent most of the evening screaming at each other.

"_Beck! BECK! Open this door!" Jade's voice cut through the solid metal sides of my RV, her livid words like a winter blast, chilling everything in its wake. Before I could even get to the door, it flew open. I glanced at the ruined lock and busted up handle, my hands burrowing into my hair with frustration. '__**Great..I just got that fixed!**_'

_My agitation was short lived, however, when Jade stomped up the steps into my living space. Her arms folded, her cold stare on my face. She said nothing, probably waiting for me to explain myself. Biting the inside of my cheek, my anger relented to the other feeling that had settled in my chest; guilt. I sighed "Look..Jade-"_

"_Why did you kiss her?!" She cut me off and I closed my eyes, running my hand over my face. I predicted this reaction and really, who could blame her? "You cheated on me! Right to my face!"_

_I held my hands up, trying to calm her down. "No..Jade. I didn't cheat. It was just a st-" I reached for her, hoping to draw her close, to embrace her, but she slapped my hands away and shoved me backwards. I stumbled back a step as she continued her tirade. _

"_NO! Don't say it was a stage kiss! You could have said no! Just because you're acting doesn't mean you get a free pass! It was IMPROV! NO ONE forced you to kiss her!" I couldn't look her in the eyes. She was right. I knew she was right. It was my choice to take the scene the way it did. My stomach churned at the thought, the overwhelming sense of guilt leaving a bad taste in my mouth. "She's not even that good! She never should have been accepted! She doesn't BELONG at Hollywood Arts, that stupid little boyfriend stealing gank!" _

_I looked up then, as she kicked over one of my chairs. I am, without a doubt, horrible, but her words still struck a chord in me, my body vibrating with pent up anger. I kept my voice controlled when I spoke. "Who are you to decide whether or not she belongs? She's still new, still grasping how we do things there. Maybe the faculty saw something in her that we have yet to be shown, Jade!" _

_Jade's mouth parted in shock. I don't think she expected me to defend the reason we were fighting to begin with. "You're defe-"_

"_Yes! I saw her showcase performance Jade! It was good! REALLY GOOD! And so what if her acting isn't that great!? You know what? None of that even matters!" My voice rose as my anger mounted. I was sick of her childish behavior, especially towards Tori, who did nothing wrong up until that kiss. "And you want to know why I kissed her?" I didn't wait for a response. "Because YOU acted like a complete gank yesterday! __**I**_ _bumped into __**her**__! It was __**my fault**_ _that coffee spilled! She was nice enough to try and help me clean it up! She took the blame, even though it rested with me! And what did you do? You HUMILIATED HER!" I could feel a vein starting to pulse in my neck as my face grew hot. I was seething. I have never yelled at Jade before. Sure I've been frustrated, annoyed, but never this mad._

"_WHY DO YOU CARE?!" Jade's voice rose to match my own. She fixed me with an icy glare, but I could see, deep behind the accusations, the rage, and betrayal, that she was scared. She was scared of me, of my behavior, because no one has ever seen me wazzed off before, and it was all directed at her. "Are you attracted to her? Do you __**like**_ _her?" Her voice softened and cracked, her strong facade melting. It doused the flames of my own aggression. _

'_**Great..I hurt her..**_' _I sighed, dropping my gaze to the floor. "Jade..I love __**you**__. Only you. Why don't you ever trust me?" Reaching for her hand, I pulled her closer and she finally let me wrap my arms around her shoulders. I hugged her fiercely as she broke into quiet sobs, her tears wetting my neck. "Jade, I never meant to hurt you. I handled it all wrong, but please believe me when I say, my heart belongs to you." She snaked her arms around my waist, hugging me back._

"_I do trust you. I don't know why I act that way. I don't trust other girls around you. I have to see and listen to it all the time, watching them fawn over you."_

"_It's not my fault I was cursed with such good looks.." I chuckled softly, a shadow of my signature smirk on my lips while I stroked her hair. She pushed me off of her and for the first time, I saw her tear-stained face. It looked wazzed again.._

"_That doesn't give them a right to shamelessly flirt with you! And you don't EVER put a stop to it either. Admit it, you like the attention!" And we fought again for the next couple hours, mostly her screaming at me. My RV took the brunt of her frustration as she threw my belongings around, some of them aimed at my head._

_At some point, after the rage had died down, we kissed and everything was alright again. She stayed the night. While she slept curled up on my chest, I remained wide awake, caught in my own thoughts. I loved Jade. I really did. Tori was pretty, but not worth ruining my relationship with Jade. So, by morning, I buried whatever feelings I had for the new girl and resolved to just be her friend. Admiring my girlfriend as she got ready in front of the bathroom mirror, I fully believed everything would work out._

And things did work out, mostly. Jade still wasn't one hundred percent okay with me, and even less so with Tori. But, I maintained my distance from the new girl. I stopped thinking about her almost entirely, and focused on my relationship with Jade. Over time, my girlfriend started to warm up to me more and even backed off Tori a little. The coffee incident and the kiss faded into distant memory as our gang settled into a new dynamic.

Jade and I were still the envious couple of Hollywood Arts, Robbie and Cat were still strange, Andre was still optimistic, and Tori was our bubbly new friend. In fact, her and Andre spent most of their free time together. I think that helped Jade lighten up a bit. I was still attracted to Tori, but it was faint enough that I could ignore it most of the time. Whatever I may have felt towards Tori was overshadowed by my love for Jade anyway.

Dawn of a new day, or a new week, Jade and I traveled to school together, as per usual. She had spent the night at my RV again, avoiding her mother like always. When we got to school, we enjoyed coffee at the cafe with most of our gang, except Tori. She was running late that day. Then, after a few minutes of chatting, we all split off and headed inside to prepare for the first class. It was a new semester, so we wouldn't get to Sikowit's until right before lunch.

"Betsy! Betsy!" The class was silent as we watched Jade and Cat perform up on the miniature stage. Cat was holding a large, stuffed pig. I sat in the front row, fingers brushing my chin as I sat through the performance. It wasn't the best play, and honestly, the accents were a bit over the top, but other than that, I thought the girls were doing pretty well...until a ball zipped through the air and hit Cat in the face!

'_What the..?_' I jumped, looking over my shoulder as everyone turned to view our teacher.

"Sikowitz?!" Jade threw her arms up, looking at him incredulously.

"What?" I raised a brow at his innocent response. Did he really see nothing wrong with what he just did? '_Isn't it against the law, or something, for teachers to abuse their students?_'

"You hit me in the face with a ball!" Cat crawled up from the floor to accuse Sikowitz, her hand holding her cheek. It was already starting to swell a bit.

"Ohh come on! A truly great actor can stay in the scene no matter what's happening around her!"

"But it really hurt!" But then the bell rang and Cat seemed to forget the whole incident as she ran off for lunch. Rolling his eyes, Sikowitz reminded us to practice, announcing we'd be going off book the next day. I grabbed my bag and followed the rest of my class towards the door. Andre, Rob, Tori, and I were the last ones to leave.

"Hey, you want to come to lunch with us?" I offered to Tori. She paused and turned back. Her hair was curled today. I caught myself wanting to move it back behind her ear and instead shoved my hand into my pocket, smiling politely.

"Sure, just let me-" She screamed, dodging another flying ball as it crashed into the wall behind her. My wide gaze mimicked hers as I turned towards Sikowitz. '_There is something seriously wrong with that guy!_' I thought as he asked Tori to stay behind and talk for a bit.

"Have fun." Andre shot towards Tori and I followed him out. "Protect your face." I added, with a playful smile. I would have hated seeing it bruised by any flying objects Sikowitz might've decided to throw next.

I followed Andre to the asphalt cafe. We stopped at the truck for some food. Festus was just as strange as usual. Cat and Jade had decided to go off campus for lunch, something about a project they needed to finish up.

"Know where I could buy a pair of ballet slippers?" Robbie and I shared a look before turning towards Dre as he sat down. My brow furrowed and I fought back the laugh that was trying to burst from my lips. "Noo..I don't. But, I know where you can get yourself a pretty skirt and some lip gloss." I grinned, resting my arms on the table.

Robbie's puppet started laughing along with me. "That was a good one Beck, lip gloss!" I trained my gaze on Rob and his doll, Rex, my amusement immediately put out to pasture. '_I wonder when he's going to grow out of this weird phase.._' "Why do you need ballet slippers?" I asked, turning my attention back to Andre.

"Because I signed up for ballet." My eyes narrowed in bewilderment, a crease forming on my forehead. '_I can't believe he said that with a straight face.._'

"Woah, woah. Isn't that kind of..girlie?"

"Yep, just one big room full of girls..and me." '_Ahh..I see what he's saying.._' I took a sip from my coffee as Andre continued. "You guys pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?"

"I am." I retorted, nodding, and even though Rex seemed to catch up, somehow Robbie was left in the dark. It made no sense to me. I tried to break it down for him as slowly as possible. "A lot of girls..who dance.." He still seemed confused, so I elaborated. "All in one room..with him?" I gestured to Andre.

"Ah! Haha!" '_finally!_' I rolled my eyes as Robbie finally seemed to grasp what we were insinuating. I went back to munching on my lunch while they talked.

"Would it be okay if, maybe, I signed up too?"

"Nah, go for it! How bout you man?" I looked up, seeing both of their eyes trained on me.

"Can't. Me and Jade already signed up for salsa dancing." '_That and I refuse to learn ballet, no matter how many girls might be there._' The only time I ever wear tights, is if I'm performing in a play that requires it, for whatever reason.

Somehow, my comment struck up a new conversation revolving around Robbie and his aversions to certain foods. I tuned them out shortly after.

The rest of school passed by in a blur. Jade came over around five and we practiced lines for the next couple hours. When night fell, she left and I was alone. I took a shower, which I did every night before bed, and then sat up for a while, reading and scrolling through the slap.

**ToriVega**: _Must learn 'The Bird Scene' -PS my teacher throws balls at people :O_

**Mood = Thinky**

'_Bird Scene huh?_' I smirked, remembering back to when I'd performed it. It was stressful. When I finished, the class remained silent, giving no indication on whether I was good or not. That first time, I got it wrong. But my second attempt, I passed. There was technically no right or wrong way to pass the bird scene. You just had to believe in your own abilities as an actor. It's something every performer must learn to do. I shut my laptop, thoughts still on Tori and the bird scene as I went to sleep.

The next day, in Sikowitz's class, we had just finished rehearsing lines from the previous day when Sikowitz decided to direct his attention to the class as a whole. He assigned us one of his drive-by acting challenges, demanding we all act like angry Brits.

"I insist you tell me who sat on me crumpet!"

"My grandmummy went to the loo while I snogged the prime minister!"

"This Flock of whippoorwills is bothering my trousers!" I kind of loved Sikowitz's drive-bys. They were always weird. Sometimes they were fun, other times they were downright embarrassing. But it got us out of our comfort zones, so we could perform nearly anything with confidence.

"Good Heavens, there's a dead cockroach in my brassiere!" '_Ew, Cat._'

"I told you not to put plum sauce on me banger!" I yelled, gesturing wildly. Then the whole room erupted into arguments as we shouted at each other. A couple minutes into it, Sikowitz called the class to order and I looked up, seeing Tori walk in late. I joined my classmates in taking our seats, wondering what had held her up for the beginning of class.

"Now that we're all loosey and/or goosey, it is time for our newest student to tackle.." We all began drumming our feet on the floor as he paused for dramatic effect. "The Bird Scene!" Scattered applause filled the room, myself included, as we watched Tori take the stage.

"Um, can I ask you a quick question before I start?" Jade threw her head back with an overly exaggerated groan. My brows creased as I shot her a look. '_Really..?_' Tori seemed to mimic my thoughts as a similar expression formed on her features. She didn't comment on it, however. I was glad she chose to rise above Jade's antics.

"So.."

"Just do your best. Action!" The room fell silent, much like it did when I performed the skit myself. Everyone watched with rapt attention while Tori recited the dialog. I leaned forward in my own seat, studying her. I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself smiling. Her southern accent wasn't overly exaggerated. It was subtle and real. Though her performance was simple, it felt believable.

"And apparently, my question rang true, for that afternoon, the bird left. And so went my spirit." Tori fell silent then and we all kept ours. I fought to keep my expression passive, moving my hand up over my mouth. I furrowed my brow, contemplatively. Tori peeked up at us in the most adorable way, waiting for some kind of response. '_Don't..say it Tori.._'

"How was that?" Inwardly, I cringed. Leaning back in my chair, I listened to her exchange with Sikowitz and did not envy her one bit. She was confused and Sikowitz gave no answers.

"You'll have to perform the scene again tomorrow and get it right." Sikowitz started pushing Tori from the stage and over to her seat behind me. I avoided looking at her, feeling my heart sink a little. "Or else you cannot be in Andre's play or any other." I winced, hearing those words.

"But can you at least tell me what I did wrong?"

"No I can't."

"I don't get any feedback?"

"That is correct."

"But-"

"Drive-by acting exercise. You're all terrified dolphins! Go!" I jumped out of my seat and joined the rest of the class as we bounced around. The room filled with a chorus of screeches. But from the corner of my eye, I saw Tori's dejected face as she sat down. My chest ached on her behalf.

When class was dismissed, we all left together. Tori followed behind, pleading for us to tell her the secret the bird scene. She bothered us with it for most of lunch. Of course we refused. It was against the rules to tell her. I really, really wanted to though.

"Oh, Come on! How am I supposed to do the scene right, if no one will tell me what I did wrong?" I avoided her gaze. She had perfected the sad puppy-dog pout, and I was NOT about to let it get to me. "I thought you guys were my friends.." '_ouch.._' I felt a pang in my chest at that comment.

"_I'm_ not your friend." I heard Jade pipe up next to me and couldn't stop my eyes from rolling. '_Here we go again..I wish she'd just learn to be nice.._' Pushing down my irritation, I let Jade's hand grasp mine as she tugged me over towards the drink machines and away from Tori.

"Was that necessary?" I whispered, under my breath, giving her a pointed look.

"Only speaking the truth." She shot back. "Give me some money." She held her hand out and I reluctantly passed her some change. '_I know I'm the boyfriend, but she makes me pay for EVERYTHING! Literally.._'

"I realize you're not friends, but can you at least be polite?" I whispered back. The others were still talking behind us. I watched Jade shoot me a look. It said something along the lines of '_Are you serious?_' I surrendered, turning back to our friends.

"Number one rule of the bird scene. No one's allowed to help you." I explained, making my way back over. Jade stood between Tori and me as I leaned against the wall. I noticed she did that a lot. '_I guess she's still a little jealous.._'

"So..this is what you did with your locker?" Jade gestured to the white board attached to the metallic door. I hadn't noticed it until she pointed it out. Across it, Tori had written in black marker 'Tori's Locker'. '_Not exactly creative.._'

"Yeah. See, it's a dry erase board with a bunch of colorful pens in a convenient cup. So, whoever wants to can write or draw whatever they want." I smirked at the explanation, quirking a brow. "But, you're supposed to decorate it yourself.." I explained, chuckling.

"It's a Hollywood Arts tradition."

"Well, what's wrong with letting other people be expressive on my locker?"

"Ohh..for one thing, they can do that.." I looked to my right and watched as Jade defaced Tori's white board so it instead read 'Tori's Stupid Locker.' Frowning, I took hold of my girlfriend's hand and lead her away while tori shouted after her.

"Well my locker's smarter than your locker!" My lips spread into a grin as a soft laugh shook my shoulders. Shaking my head, I pulled Jade to our next class, Salsa dancing. Everyone paired up, Jade and I together, of course. The first day of class, Jade had threatened all the other girls with bodily harm if they even looked at me.

"Did you have to do that?" I asked as we stepped into position. The teacher started up the music and we began moving to the catchy beat. "Jade, I'm supposed to lead, remember?" I reminded her. She was always trying to push me around the dance floor. '_Why does she always have to be in control of everything?_'

"Why, just because you're a guy? That's so sexist." She hissed back at me. I just sighed and continued to guide our movements. "And if you're referring to that stuff I wrote on Vega's locker then the answer is..yes." She smiled smugly at me. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I turned her back to me, my hands settling on her hips.

"Jade, it was uncalled for. She's already having a rough time with that assignment." I took her by the hand and spun her away from me before pulling her forward again, her free hand coming to rest on my shoulder. She said nothing, but her gaze narrowed. "Don't start. You were going to say, 'why do you care?' and then I'd say 'because she's our friend.' then you'd say 'She's not my friend.' to which I would say ' well she is mine.' And honestly, I don't want to fight about it again."

She continued to fix me with that famous glare of hers, as I snaked an arm around her waist, dipping her as the song came to an end. The class turned towards our teacher, listening as she commented on how well or not we did, giving pointers. Jade hissed at me under her breath. "We wouldn't fight about it all the time, if you'd just stay away from her.."

I remained silent, rolling my eyes. I didn't want to go there again. Another song started up and we continued dancing until class was dismissed. Jade and I didn't talk much the rest of the day. I knew the tension between her and tori was partly my fault. But the fact was, Tori was our friend; Andre, Robbie, Cat, and me, if not Jade. She wasn't going anywhere. Nothing was going on between Tori and me. I just wished Jade would let it go. It was really starting to put a rift between us. We were fighting more and more each day.

We still had our good moments, and that's probably why I stuck by her through all of the negativity. That, and she needed me. I was probably the only one in her life, that truly cared about her. Her parents didn't. Her little brother didn't. There was just me. '_And I love her.._' I reminded myself. Every day, I reminded myself.

**ToriVega:** _So ready for the bird scene this time. Gonna KILL IT._

**Mood = Determined**

After reading Tori's post on the slap the next morning, I walked into Sikowitz's excited and confident in her abilities. Approaching my friends, I eyed Tori and clapped my hands together. "So! You ready?" I gave a half smile as Jade walked up and put her arm around me. Funny, that, considering she didn't talk to me the whole ride to school.

"Oh, I'm way past ready. Sikowitz wants the bird scene? I'm gonna give him the bird scene. I got props, I got.." I raised my eyebrows at her air of confidence. Maybe she would pass it this time. "And just to kiss up a little, I even got Sikowitz two large coconuts." She bent down, picking them up, one in each hand and held them in front of her chest.

I smirked..'_No way..that's too easy.._' I gestured to each of them. "Those are good ones." I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth. Did she even realize what she walked into with a comment like that? Jade shot me a look and I turned away, walking to my seat. I was probably gonna hear about that later, but at the moment, I didn't care. I was still laughing in my head. '_They are good ones though._' One corner of my mouth tugged up as I crossed my legs.

"What's the deal with Sikowitz and Coconuts?"

"He says the milk gives him visions." Jade took her usual spot next to me as the bell rang. Sikowitz entered shortly after. He seemed to trip over something invisible and stumbled to the stage. After taking a moment to recover, he continued.

"We have much to do today. But first, Tori, the Bird scene." She stood and I threw an arm around Jade as Tori took the stage. She handed Sikowitz the coconuts to which he seemed delighted about, and then we all sat in wait for her to begin.

"One sec." She walked to the whiteboard and tugged on a string. A large backdrop rolled down, depicting a lone, country farmhouse. I raised my eyebrows. Already, my interest was piqued. I'd never seen anyone bring in a backdrop for that assignment before.

Tori recited the monologue as beautifully as yesterday, perhaps expressing more feeling on her second attempt. Upon mention of the bird, she walked over and cranked something on the wall, causing a stuffed parrot to lower, hanging by a string. '_Interesting.._' And then the bird flew away..and by that I mean she chucked it out the window.

"Soo..Was that good?"

"Exactly what are you asking me?"

"You know, did you like what I did with the scene?" I looked on, listening to the exchange between Tori and Sikowitz. She did a great job, but it wasn't our approval she needed to pass.

"Sure." '_Don't say it. Don't say it._'

"Soo, did I get it right?" '_Ahh..you said it._' I closed my eyes, wincing when Tori spoke those words.

"Oh no. You failed. Again."

"What? Why?" I sighed inwardly. Again, my heart went out to Tori. If only I could give her a hint or something. '_Why do I care so much? We all had to go through this.._'

Tori started to argue, but a janitor appeared in the window and threw the stuffed bird back at her.

We spent the rest of class rehearsing lines and doing acting exercises. During Lunch, Jade pulled me off to be alone. We decided to get burgers off campus. "What was with that comment you made in class earlier?"

"What comment?" I picked at my fries, tossing one into my mouth. I knew what she was talking about, but I was hoping she'd drop it so we could avoid another argument.

"So, you like Tori's coconuts huh?" Jade sneered at me and I sighed, sitting back in the booth.

"Are we really going to do this?" I raised a brow, staring her down. She simply folded her arms, unrelenting. "It was a joke, Jade. It didn't mean anything. Now, can we finish eating? Besides, we all know that your coconuts are my favorite." I smirked and, though she tried to fight it, I finally got a smile out of her. She kicked me under the table. We shared a laugh and the tension we'd been experiencing seemed to be resolved.

After lunch, we went to Salsa. With the newfound peace between us, Jade and I actually had fun in class. The teacher noticed too, complimenting us on our improvements. When Salsa dancing ended, we parted ways. "I'll see you later, Babe." I gave her a quick kiss, watching her walk off, before turning to head towards my locker.

When I neared the main entrance, I saw Tori and Cat. For some reason, unknown to me, Cat was handcuffed to a railing. Watching their interactions, I guessed Tori was trying to trick Cat into telling her the secret of the bird scene. She folded pretty quickly though. Chuckling, I walked over as she threw her books into her locker. "Watcha doin'?" I asked, casually leaning up against the neighboring lockers. Standing even this close to her, with no one else around, gave me the faint feeling that my stomach was hopping around inside of myself.

"Angrily throwing books in my locker, can't you tell?" I decided to change the subject quickly, before she asked me about the bird scene. Looking over her locker, I noticed it was still empty, except for the pink stripe across the top.

"Have you figured out how you're gonna decorate it yet?"

She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing. I tried not thinking about how soft her hair looks. "Yes, look. I put a stripe on it. Did you see the stripe?" I frowned thoughtfully, looking at the pink line across her locker and nodded.

"I see the stripe." '_not exactly decorated though.._'

Tori leaned her back up against the lockers and folded her arms defensively. She looked so down-hearted, I just wanted to reach out and hug her. But Jade would kill me if I did that. "Well I don't know what to do." She cried.

"Why..don't you do something, you know..creative and deep?" I suggested. After all, the lockers were supposed to be a representation of us. Tori seemed to be one of those people, though, that are so unbelievably humble, that it takes a lot for them to really see themselves and their abilities. It's a characteristic that could be both good and bad, especially in the entertainment business.

"What'd you do for yours?"

"Come on." I pushed myself off the lockers and dipped my head towards the corner, gesturing for her to follow. We walked around to the stretch of wall that contained Andre's locker, as well as mine. Standing in front of it to keep it hidden, I waited for her to stop in front of me. Then I moved, gesturing towards the invisible door to my locker. You could see all of my belongings inside it, including a spare plaid shirt.

"Clear?"

"Transparent." I corrected, before elaborating. "I've got no secrets, and neither does my locker." I recited what I'd been telling people for over a year. And up until then, it had mostly been true. It still was! But, there was doubt in the back of my mind, one secret that I wasn't willing to give up, not even to myself. I fought away the nagging feeling as I watched, waiting for her reaction.

"But..Aww, that is creative and deep!" I shoved my hands into my pockets again, lifting my shoulders. "Yeah.." A half smile tugged at my lips as she sighed.

"So..anyway..about the bird scene…"

'_I knew she was going to go there!_' I held my hand up, patting her head affectionately. "Later.." I bid her goodbye, deciding to duck out of there before I'd cave. The bell rang overhead, anyway. Smirking, I headed off to my next lesson. '_Hm, her hair __**is**_ _soft.._'

The next day, when I entered Sikowitz's class with Jade, I stopped, eyeing the large curtain that hid half of the room. It was an ugly floral pattern, that I would probably find in my great aunt's house. "What do you think that's about?" I turned to Jade as more students filed in.

"Don't know. Don't care. Probably Vega's doing." Her shoulders lifted indifferently. "I sure wish she'd hurry up and get this bird scene thing over with though. Just because she's too stupid to pass, doesn't mean I should be forced to endure the torture of sitting through anymore of her performances." That familiar feeling of irritation started rising in me again. I really didn't want to fight again, but the way she talked about Tori was really starting to...

'_What the..?_' The door opened and Andre and Rob entered, walking with their legs apart, muttering and wincing. '_What the hell happened to them..?_'

"Happy birthday!" Sikowitz entered and we all took our seats, except for Cat.

"Who's birthday is it?"

"Somebody's. Somewhere."

"That's so true!" Cat took her seat. Sikowitz didn't seem to be paying too much attention to her, though, his eyes on the curtain. Turning to the class, he asked, "Where's Tori?"

Suddenly, the curtains were pulled apart enough for Tori's face to pop out from behind the sheet, startling many in the class including Sikowitz. "Here!"

"Oh! Haha! You brought curtains!"

"Let's do this."

"Very good. Ladies and Gentlemen, once again: The bird scene, staring Tori." Sikowitz marched to the back of class and took the seat behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as he pulled out a coconut and inserted a straw.

The curtains parted, revealing an entire set behind them. '_Whoa…_' Just when I think she can't top herself, she pulls something like that. I was immensely impressed. '_Did she make all of that herself..?_' I thought surely, that time, she'd get it right. How could she doubt herself after putting forth so much effort? More than any other person I've witnessed do this project. She even had music!

For the third time, Tori began reciting her lines, flawlessly, while I silently hoped she'd get through it this time. If she failed again, I couldn't imagine what she'd do. How could she top a full set right in the middle of our classroom?

"Living on the prairie was a dreary existence. No telephone, no radio, only a large, majestic bird with whom I shared my feelings." She brought her fingers to her lips and whistled. A large white cockatoo flew in through the open window and perched itself on one of the props.

My jaw dropped for a moment, eyebrows lifting in surprise. '_Wow..she is good..How did she get that bird to-_' Sikowitz interrupted my thoughts as he leaned forward in his chair and muttered in my ear. I tilt my head back to listen. "You see the bird too, right?" I kept my eyes on the stage, folding my arms as I leaned back.

"Yeah.."

"Fantastic."

"One day, When I was feeling low, I said to him, 'Oh bird, you can fly. You can soar miles From this lonely place, Yet you stay. Why?" Tori continued her performance. I leaned forward in my chair, wondering what she was going to surprise us with next. Resting my elbow on my knee, I brought my hand up to cup my chin, thoughtfully. She cocked her head towards the window and the bird flew out, just like that. I smiled. '_How did she train it to do that?_'

She finished her scene and, looking around the room, we were all smiles..except Jade, but that was normal.

"That was impressive." Sikowitz spoke what was on all of our minds. I was confident she would pass this time. All she had to do was not say..

"So, did I get it right?" '_Tori..Tori..Tori..._' I shook my head, the smile I once had, faltering.

"Nope."

"But.." I looked up, watching as Tori started to spiral on stage. "But I just..I-I..I did too get it right!" I raised my brow, taken aback by the outburst. Although, I understood her frustration, especially considering how much effort she went into this latest performance.

"Tori, listen-"

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but do you know how hard I worked on this scene?!" She cut Sikowitz off and I cringed faintly as she started fuming in front of the whole class. "I made this costume!" '_Wow..really?_' I looked it over, nodding my approval.

"I downloaded special prairie music! I even trained that crazy cockatoo to fly in and out of that window, on command!" I looked over as the bird in question flew back in and perched itself once again on one of the props, squawking at her. "NOT NOW!" I felt bad for the bird as it flew back out. "Look, I know You're a great acting teacher and everything, But I don't care what you say. The scene I just did was good, And I'm proud of it no matter what anybody thinks."

I smiled, nodding at her newfound confidence. The funny feeling started bubbling up in my midsection again. '_She really is amazing.._' The room erupted into applause and Tori threw her hands aside. "What?"

"You just passed the bird scene!" Sikowitz announced and I, among others hooted and hollered, clapping our hands again. My lips spread into a wide grin. I even noticed Jade applauding, though maybe not as enthusiastically. '_Finally! I knew she could do it.._' Tori was still confused about what was going on, but Sikowitz finally explained the secret to the bird scene. We finished class with a drive-by exercise.

Later that night, Tori sent a mass text to us, asking us to meet at her locker tomorrow.

**Tori:** _Hey guys! Meet at my locker before lunch!_

I lifted an eyebrow, curious, and decided to text her back, one-on-one.

**Beck:** _Hey Tori, what you got going on tomorrow?_

**Tori:** _It's a surprise! I finally decided on a design for my locker!_

**Beck:** _Nice. any hints?_

**Tori:** _You'll just have to wait and see ;)_

The next afternoon, everyone except Andre and Rob were there, gathered by Tori's locker. Even Trina was there. Tori stood before us, waiting. She had the door open so we couldn't spot the design before she was ready. "You guys ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Whatever.." That was Jade, obviously. Tori closed the door and gestured towards the design. It was painted dark, with the words 'Make it shine' in big letters. I think we were all a bit underwhelmed, but at least it was more creative than her past attempts.

"Make what shine?" asked Trina.

"It's the title of the song I sang in the big showcase."

"Ohhh okay!" I nodded, finally getting the significance of her design. "Cause that's what got me here in the first place?" Tori added.

"I don't like it." '_You don't like anything, Jade_' I thought, choosing not to engage her negative behavior at that time.

"Maybe the words should be bigger.." Suggested Cat. Everyone started shouting out ideas then, until Tori cut us all off.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! I believe in my own choice and I don't need approval from others." I smiled softly, nodding. "Ah, the young female has learned the ways of the bird scene." I teased. Tori beamed a satisfied smile of her own.

"I still think it's dull." added Jade. I shot her a disapproving look but she didn't seem to care.

"Yeah? Well then, maybe I should make it shine.." And then Tori pressed a small button I hadn't noticed before, causing the entire locker and it's many stars to light up. '_Wow..impressive. I wonder what it runs on._'

"Ohhh!"

"Very nice!"

"Okay, are we going to eat or what?!"

"Oh, yay food!" The others walked off towards the cafe. I hesitated, looking over to Tori. Offering a small smile, I cocked my head towards the others. "Come with?" Her face lit up, much like her locker did, as she grinned. My stomach flipped over as her smile infected me with the urge to return it. I waited for her to follow before turning to join the others. Jade was glaring at me. I don't think she liked the fact I invited Tori along, but I didn't really care..


	9. Stage Fighting

Stage Fighting

Mid April: I was sitting in history, waiting for the class to end so I could head to Sikowitz's. We were meeting in the black box theater that day to go over a new assignment, stage fighting. I'd taken an entire course on it already, so I planned on getting there early to brush up on things before the others got there. For now, however, I had my phone out under my desk.

Jade had been pestering me over the slap so much over the last few days, I deactivated my account. She promised to chill out though, so I decided to rejoin. I had just activated it when the bell rang. Getting up, I raced out of the classroom, typing out a quick status update.

**GotBeck:** _Yep. I'm back. Jade promised to stop freaking out._

Walking into the theater, I saw Russ setting out chairs. "Hey man. What's up?" I walked up, offering a hand. He took it and we bumped shoulders.

"Beck, hey, not much. You ready to show these guys how it's done?" Russ had been part of the stage-fighting course too. He was probably the best in the school. Acting teachers used him alot for demonstrations.

"You know it. But, uh, how about we get some practice rounds in while we wait?"

"Sure thing." He motioned over towards the front of the room. I followed him over and we took a stance opposite from each other. "You ready?" He asked, I gave a nod. Pulling out his phone, he hit play and the sounds of blows landing rang through the air periodically. He launched himself forward first.

The 'blows' were timed perfectly with the audio, so even though he never actually came in contact with me, it sounded and looked real as my body reacted accordingly. I threw a few wild punches at him, then dodged. He 'punched me a few more times and as he kicked his foot forward I threw my body back forcefully and flipped over the table behind me.

"Beck!" '_Was that Tori?_' I crawled across the floor, away from Russ and he ran over, continuing his so-called assault. "Hey! Hey, you guys!" Russ didn't seem to notice we had an audience. Tori sounded genuinely concerned. I was filled with a sense of pride, hearing the worry in her voice. Obviously Russ and I were putting on a believable performance. I was not, however, expecting Tori to come to my rescue.

"Leave him alone!" Growling, Tori jumped on Russ's back, her arms latched around his neck. My eyes widened as Russ started trying to throw her off. '_Oh my god.._'

"Get off!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Tori!" I yelled, getting to my feet. I ran over, trying to pull her off of Russ as our other classmates wandered in.

"Get off of me! Who is this chick?!" It took three of us to get her down. The sub stepped between Tori and Russ, keeping them at a distance with his arms outstretched. He turned to Tori, his eyes wild when he spoke.

"What are you doing?!"

"That guy was beating up Beck." '_Aww.._' I was trying to catch my breath, but the way Tori jumped in to protect me, with no regard to her own safety did give me a warm feeling in my chest. It was kinda sweet..in a way.

"Oh, you poor thing.." Drawled Jade. She came over to stand by me, draping an arm around my waist. I sighed softly.

"We were practicing." I explained, pushing the hair back from my eyes. The teacher introduced Russ to the class then. Russ still seemed a bit ticked off. I don't blame him. It's not everyday a crazy chick jumps on you. Not that Tori's crazy..

"He's a professional stuntman. I invited him here to teach the class about stage-fighting."

"And now Tori says, what's stage fighting?" I frowned, shooting a look towards Jade. I didn't find the mocking tone of her voice amusing in the least. Tori was new to these things, there was no need to make fun of her for it. It was an honest mistake. Andre explained things to Tori.

"I took a class with him last summer." I added.

"Well it looked like he was hurting you.." Tori replied with such a wounded and worried expression on her face, I felt my mouth tug into my signature smirk. It was cute, her concern for me. I couldn't remember the last time anyone, other than my mom, did that.

"Why do you care?" '_Jeez Jade, maybe because she's human?_' I thought bitterly. I was about to say something, but Tori beat me to it.

"'Cause I figure he already suffers enough pain, dating you." 'oh shit..That was pretty good.' I smirked, fighting a laugh as Jade sneered at her. "You wanna see pain?!" Cringing, I took Jade by the arm and led her away from Tori before a real fight broke out.

"Heeey! Why don't we go sit over there?" I asked, pointing to a couple chairs in the front row. As I lead Jade away, my eyes fell on Tori and I gave a playful grimace. I had to give it to the girl, she was witty.

Russ pulled Cat aside as the rest of us took our seats. We talked amongst ourselves while Russ worked out a demonstration with Cat. "The only one who suffers pain in our relationship, is my RV." I muttered softly, shooting a smile towards Jade. Her expression remained passive as she lifted her shoulders.

"If you gave me a key, I wouldn't have to kick your door in all the time."

"..Or you could just wait for me to answer the door." I smirked, my brows furrowing at her logic. She shrugged again. Reaching over, I took her hand in mine and let my thumb brush over her knuckles. This managed to bring a smile to her face and I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then, Russ called for our attention.

I dropped her hand and leaned forward in my seat, watching the demonstration. I already knew this stuff, but it was polite to be supportive. Cat seemed to be a quick learner. After the demonstration, we all clapped and the teacher stepped forward.

"Alright. I'm going to pair you guys up. And each team will work with Russ this week to prepare a fight scene."

"I thought his name was Steve." Andre interjected from the back.

"He does look like a Steve." The whole class erupted with murmured agreements. Even I had to agree. '_He does kinda look like a Steve.._'

"My name is Russ!"

"Okay!" The teacher shouted, calling the class back to order. "On Friday you will all perform your fight scenes here, in front of the class." He paused, looking at his clipboard which I assume had a list of our names on it. "Now, the pairs will be: Beck and Cat" My brow shot up. '_Well..that'll be interesting_' and then,"Andre and Gwen, Darren and Jess, Tori and Jade." '_Tori and Jade..?!_'

"Tori and who?!" Apparently I was the only one who seemed a bit concerned with that pairing. As soon as the teacher uttered it, Tori sat up in her seat, her face mimicking a deer caught in a car's high beams. Jade's expression, on the other hand, reminded me of a jungle cat spotting it's next meal.

The bell rang and we all got up to leave. I gathered my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and stepped in front of Jade. "Jade, I-"

"Hold that thought." She moved past me, stopping behind Tori. "Hey, partner." I sighed, turning to watch her. "I can't wait for our fight." She paused. "Scene.." '_Why does she always have to be so hard on her?_' I rolled my eyes as I followed Jade out of the theater.

"Jade!" As soon as we left the theater, I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her aside. She looked up at me with innocent, wide eyes. I lowered my brow at her, my lips pressing into a firm line. "You're not planning on hurting Tori or anything are you? You'll just fail and probably land yourself in detention."

Her chin dropped with an audible gasp, but it was all an act. My expression didn't change, so she dropped the mock offense and rolled her eyes. "Relax Beck, I'm not going to hurt your precious Vega. Tch." She sneered. "Not that you should be concerned about her at all."

I sighed, pulling her closer. She folded her arms, but allowed me to draw mine around her. My head lowered, pressing my lips to her temple. "Just go easy on her, alright? She's new to it and I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially you." She said nothing, instead undoing her arms and sliding them around me to return my affections. "Ok, let's go get some lunch, eh?"

Later that day, I got home around six. I spent most of the afternoon working on my routine with Cat. We still had a few kinks to work out, but it was coming along great. Collapsing on my bed, I pulled out my phone to check for any messages. There were a few notifications from the slap.

**Jade:** _Hi, babe. Welcome back to _

**Jade: **_Did you see the email I sent you?_

**Jade:** _How come you didn't respond to my email yet?_

**Jade:** _Are you getting these messages on your phone? I texted you, too!_

**Jade:** _BABE!_

'_Are you serious?!_' My brows furrowed as I minimized the app and opened up my texts. There were a few there as well, all pretty much the same stuff, telling me to check my email. '_That email better be important.._' I frowned, checking through my emails for anything she might have sent recently. I located it soon enough and opened the document. There was a file attached. Clicking on it, a video popped up on my screen. "It's just a cat trying to attack a raccoon through a window!" I yelled incredulously. I was alone, so no one heard me. I shook my head. '_I can't believe she was pestering me over this...even if it is hilarious.._' I smirked, chuckling as I rewatched the video. Switching back to the Slap I typed out a reply.

**GotBeck:** _Do you want me to delete my account again?_

I waited a couple minutes before my phone buzzed again.

**Jade: **_Sorry, I'll stop. Love you._

I smiled softly, shaking my head. She was insane, but she was mine. I set my phone on the charger and turned the tv on. I spent most of the evening drowning out my thoughts with television. As the clock rolled around to midnight, my eyes were starting to droop. So, I got up, got ready for bed and sent out another little status update before drifting off into a worrisome dream involving Jade and Tori trying to kill each other.

**Beck:** _Going to bed. If I post any updates in the next 8 hours, it's just me text-sleeping again._

The next morning passed without incident. In class, we mostly paired off and worked through our fight routines again. Russ would travel around the room, giving pointers to people. He spent most of his time with Tori and Jade. I watched them work. Tori was very jumpy. She kept flinching or screaming whenever Jade came towards her. I felt really bad for her. '_I'll talk to Jade about it after class.._'

And that's exactly what I did. The bell rang and I lead Jade to the asphalt cafe. We didn't sit at our usual table today. I wanted to talk with her alone and Jade was more than happy to keep me far away from Tori. "Jade, can we talk about your fight scene with Tori?"

"Why? You worried I'm gonna hurt your little princess?" She retorted back, bitterly. I sighed, rolling my eyes. This just made her bristle even more, her gaze narrowing into the famed icy stare.

"Jade, come on..please? Can you put your differences aside this one week and try to get through this assignment?" It was her turn to roll her eyes as she scoffed in the back of her throat. "Jade, for me? She's still nervous about it. I need you to reassure her, you're not going to do anything wrong."

"I'm not going to hurt her, but you always take her side!" She yelled back, I threw my hands up defensively. "No, don't. I'm tired of hearing about her. You're always worried about Vega and it makes me sick. Do you even want to be with me anymore?" I felt a twinge in my chest and my jaw dropped. I reached for her hand.

"Of course I do! If I didn't, I would have ended things long before now." I sighed heavily, bringing her knuckles up to my lips and kissing them softly. "Jade, I would be just as concerned for you if the tables were turned and she was the mean one." She rolled her eyes and snatched her hand back. We continued like that for most of lunch. I only broke through and got her to soften up in the last ten minutes. But, at least I got a kiss out of it.

"Next up we have Tori and Jade." It was Friday and everyone was performing their fight scenes. Andre and his partner did a really great job. Gwen even through him onto a break-away table. It was pretty awesome. When the teacher called Tori and Jade up, I looked over each shoulder, giving them both an encouraging smile. Tori still looked nervous, but according to Jade, rehearsals were going well between them.

"Okay..for our scene, I'm gonna be playing an old lady who's walking home from a bingo game.."

"And I play a brutal mugger!" I gave Jade a suspicious look. She sounded a little too enthused about that. I think Tori agreed, because her voice wavered a bit when she next spoke, reminding us that the mugger wouldn't REALLY hurt her.

"Okay, as always, be careful. And, if anything goes wrong, just yell the safe word which is...butternut." Russ stepped away from them and nodded towards the teacher. '_Butternut? Where did he come up with that?_'

"Okay, guys, ready?" The teacher paused before raising his hand, about to yell action. "Annnd…"

"BUTTERNUT!" Tori panicked before they'd even started. '_She really doesn't like this assignment..I wish she'd trust Jade...Not that Jade's given her much of a reason to trust her. She torments her nearly everyday._' I continued to argue with myself while they worked things out among themselves and the teacher. Finally the teacher yells "Action!"

"Ohh..I certainly did enjoy that bingo! Although..I do miss bob hope." I grinned, chuckling, as Jade ran up behind Tori and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Give me your money!"

"What?!"

"I ain't playin! Give me your money and your watch!" I had to admit, Jade was pretty convincing as a mugger.

"Oh, wouldn't you rather have this?" Tori spun around then, swinging the prop cane at Jade's face. Jade spun at the same time and fell to the floor. "OWW!" I jumped, leaning forward. It was so well done, I thought for a second, it was actually real.

"Butternut! Butternut!"

"She's bleeding!"

"Cut!"

'_Shit! It is real!_' I jumped up, running over along with half the class. Pulling Jade up from the floor, I tried to get a look at her face. "Are you okay?" I asked, my brows furrowed. There was blood smeared under her eye. '_Oh my god!_' My pulse quickened with worry and a sick feeling churned in my stomach. Worried murmurs surrounded us.

"No, Tori hit me in the face for real!" Jade shouted, her gaze shooting accusations at Tori who hadn't moved from her spot. She looked shocked and confused. Even if she had hit Jade, surely it was an accident, judging by her reaction..

"No, I didn't!"

"Tell that to my bloody eye!. Ow!" Someone suggested she sit down. There was too much going on for me to focus on anything more than Jade. Tori finally ran over and grabbed a nearby chair, setting it behind her. When she sat, however, the structure crumbled and she fell onto the floor. My jaw dropped and I looked over, seeing a similar expression on Tori's face. It was just not a good day for either of them.

"That was a breakaway chair!"

"Aww, butternut!" Later I would feel bad, but right now, my main concern was Jade. I helped her up off the floor and wrapped an arm around her waist. Walking her back to our previous seats, I gently sat her down. Someone came over with an Ice Pack. Jade was applying it to her eye, when Tori walked over.

"Jade, you know I didn't hit you. I swung, by I missed." I didn't know what to make of that. Tori wouldn't lie, but Jade's injury proved otherwise. '_Is she in denial, maybe?_'

Jade stood up, still holding the ice pack to her face. "Look..tori.." Her knees buckled and we all reached out to steady her.

"Hey, we gotta get her to the nurse."

"But, I didn't hit her!" At this point, I just blocked Tori out and walked over to grab mine and Jade's bag.

"Can someone call my mom?"

"I'll call your mom." I responded. Tori was adamant. She was still refusing to believe Jade's injury was real.

"She doesn't need her mom. Don't bother her mom!" She pointed a finger at me I shrugged.

"I gotta call her mom.." I explained. '_She might lose an eye!_' I started following Jade, the teacher, and Russ out the door when Jade paused and turned to look back at Tori.

"And I thought we were just starting to be friends.." I frowned. '_Okay, that's laying it on a bit thick.._'

"But..I-I didn't.." Tori struggled to find the words. I shook my head and followed them out. Once we were out in the hall, I followed Jade to the nurse's office and dialed her mom's cell.

"Yes, Ms. Hunington? It's Beck."

"Oh, Beck, you're still in school right? Is everything okay?"

"Uhh..well.." I cringed, glancing towards Jade's eye as I sat beside her. My hand came to rest on her back, rubbing circles into it soothingly. "It's Jade. There was an accident in our stage-fighting lesson.."

"Oh goodness. Is her face okay?" I frowned, brows furrowing. Typical. Her mother only cared about her face because she didn't want Jade's career to be ruined by any blemishes.

"Well her eye got banged up." I stated plainly, controlling any irritation in my voice. "Don't worry about it. I was just calling to let you know. I'm gonna take her home." With that, I promptly hung up. Turning to Jade, I pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Babe..Is there anything I can do? You don't have to go to your place. We can go to mine." She shook her head.

"No, no. just take me to my house. I really just want to lie down for a while." I managed a slow nod, helping her to her feet. Russ and the teacher had left earlier and the nurse was busy attending to another student. Wrapping my arm around her, I supported Jade out to my truck. It didn't take long for me to get to Jade's house. She jumped out of the truck. "Don't worry about me. Just go." She stated abruptly before I could even get out of the truck.

"Are you sure?" She didn't answer me though. Despite this, I waited until she closed the front door behind her before peeling out and heading to my RV. There was no way I was going back to school. I couldn't face anyone. They'd likely all be talking about the incident and I was worried about Jade enough as it is.

When I got home, I worked on what little homework I had and then decided to read for a bit. I had trouble concentrating on my novel though. My mind kept drifting to Tori and what happened, and how she was so sure she didn't hit Jade. It gave me a sinking feeling. I was so disappointed in her. I always thought Tori was better than that. Needless to say, it wasn't an easy night's sleep for me.

On Monday, Tori was apparently pulled into the counselor's office. No doubt it was about the fight scene incident. She told me later that they'd given her two weeks detention and she had to clean up after a food fight scene in the black box. Considering it was probably an accident, I felt that was a bit harsh, especially since Jade only walked away with a shiner.

Speaking of Jade, I joined up with her at lunch. She was pushing around her food, not really eating it, and was sitting alone. Walking up, I placed my food down on the table across from her. "Hey, how ya feelin'?"

"My eye hurts.." she muttered nonchalantly. Seemed as though she was back to being the same old grouchy Jade.

"Oh yeah, Which one?" I chuckled, grinning as I teased her. She was unamused.

"Cute...I want coffee." I raised my brows. Just because she was injured, didn't mean I was gonna let her boss me around like that.

"What's the magic word?" I asked. She replied in a snarky tone.

"Get me some coffee..?" When I didn't respond, she added, in a much sweeter tone.."Please..?"

"Actually, the magic word was lotion..but, I'll accept your please 'cause you got a boo-boo eye." I smiled, getting up from my seat.

"Two sugars!"

"I know what to do!" I called back, heading over to the drink cart. '_I think I've been with her long enough to know how she takes her coffee..not that she can say the same about me._' Luckily there was no one in line. "Yeah, just a regular coffee with two sugars, please?" I slipped out my wallet, passing over a few bills. '_I'm glad she's okay. I don't know what I'd do if something really bad happened to her.._' I smiled softly, my mind stuck on Jade and how pretty she is, even with bruises over her eye. And, she was kinda sweet earlier. It was a nice change.

I took the drink and turned back, heading towards our table. But as I got there, I noticed Jade was gone. Frowning, I turned towards Cat and Robbie. "Um..do you know where Jade went?" Robbie shrugged and shook his head.

"Um..someone threw water on her and she ran off. Maybe she went to the bathroom." Cat offered. I sighed and decided to just finish my lunch. I sipped the coffee myself, figuring Jade probably wasn't coming back. '_Don't want my money to go to waste._'

After lunch, I headed off to Salsa class but Jade was nowhere to be found. '_Huh..maybe she went home..?_' To my dismay, I had to spend the lesson partnered up with my teacher. It was a good thing I was so popular that even that wasn't enough to damage my social life. After Salsa, I had a free period. I spent it catching up on homework and then decided to check the slap.

**Tori:** Um, whoa. Andre just told me something X-TREMELEY interesting. I KNEW IT!

**Mood = Grrrr**

'Huh..wonder what that's about.' I thought about texting Andre but decided it wasn't my business. If either of them wanted to tell me, they would eventually. I didn't see Jade the rest of the school day. After school I decided to go by her house and check on her. I rang the bell and waited for the door to open. "Hey Jade, I-"

My eyebrows lowered, bemused gaze landing on Jade's flawless face. '_Wasn't it bruised earlier? I've heard of fast healing but.._' And then I remembered Tori's Slap status. My mouth pressed into a stern frown. Jade had this guilty look on her face as she avoided eye contact and lowered her gaze. "Tori was right. She never hit you." We stood in the doorway, silence falling around us for a couple minutes. I decided to continue. "Unbelievable Jade. This is a new low, even for you." With that, I turned and stalked off back to my truck.

"Beck! Wait!" I shook my head, starting the ignition. Without stopping to hear a word she had to say, I peeled out and headed back to my RV. I was so disappointed in her. It's not even like i was mad. Instead I just had this sinking feeling that left me sick to my stomach. '_How could she pull a stunt like that?! And Tori received such a harsh punishment for something she didn't even do!_'

I didn't talk to her for the rest of the week. Everytime she tried to corner me, I'd just walk by or turn away and head the other direction. If she managed to trap me, I'd stare over her head and wait until she gave up before continuing on my way. It wasn't until late friday night, that I finally decided to respond. She texted me.

**Babe:** Hey. I know you're not talking to me, but I want you to know that I made up with Tori.

My eyebrows raised, disappearing into the fringe of black hair falling in front of my eyes. '_She called her Tori..She never calls her Tori._' I smiled softly. Every negative feeling I had been carrying around suddenly melted away.

**Babe:** _You were right. I went too far. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me._

**Beck:** _Don't be ridiculous. I love you. I'm glad you worked things out with her. Pick you up tomorrow?_

**Babe:** _Sounds great. :-* I love you too. _


	10. Jade Dumps Beck

A/N: So, this one might not be my best writing. Especially towards the end, when Jade and Beck kiss. I struggled with trying to describe it without making it vulgar. Anyway, hope you still enjoy it.

Jade Dumps Beck

"Hey Beck!" I looked up from the script I was studying to see Andre join me.

"Hey Andre." Pulling my shades off and closing my book, I turned in my seat to face arguably, my best friend. He set a bottle of water in front of me and I just stared at it for a second before meeting his gaze, my brow furrowed.

"Congrats. You got a free bottle of water." '_okay…_' He went on to explain. "Oh, I put a dollar in the machine and two came out." '_ohhh!_'

"Ah, thanks.." Reaching for the beverage, I took a look at the label before setting it back down. "But, Um..I don't drink water from mountain streams." I offered a polite smile, pushing it back towards him. He met me with a bemused expression.

"Why not?"

"Mountain streams are full of fish." I responded, shrugging.

"So?" My gaze tightened as I stared him down, stating the obvious. "Fish pee.." He just shrugged, taking a drink of his water. '_Wow.._' "You're drinking fish pee." My lips pressed together as my nose crinkled involuntarily with distaste. 'Ugh' I shuddered inwardly as I watched a look of disgust cross Andre's features. Needless to say, he wasn't so thrilled about the water anymore.

"Hey, guys!" Tori ran over to us and took a seat next to Andre. "Dude! Look what's on the buzzfinger homepage!" I was about to take a sip of my coffee when Tori shoved her phone in my face. Frowning, I focused on the screen. '_Jay Leno: Inside his recent trip to the ER'_

"Ohh, poor Jay Leno." A crease etched between my eyebrows as I studied the headline. I was about to read further, when she pulled the phone away with a confused look on her face.

"Noo, under that." She scrolled and put her phone in my face again. I leaned closer to study the picture. "Oh.." I quickly lost interest, chuckling as I reached for my coffee. "Oh? That's you and Alyssa Vaugn, together!" I shook my head, taking a sip.

"No way!" Andre was looked at the picture then. "That's Beck and Alyssa Vaugn, Together!" I rolled my eyes. '_Ugh..Why are they making such a big deal out of it?_' I frowned, my eyebrows lowering as i watched them study Tori's phone.

"Why are you guys so impressed?" Tori gave me a look, like I should already know the answer to that.

"Cause Alyssa Vaugn is famous."

"And Hot!"

"Her father's a billionaire."

"And Hot!" '_Wait..what?_' I gave Andre a look. Tori seemed to share my thoughts as she mimicked my expression. Andre looked up, only then realizing what he'd said. He started to backpedal. "I didn't mean her father is.." When the explanation didn't seem to satisfy us, he gestured towards his abandoned water. "I drank fish pee." '_That doesn't exactly excuse you.._'

Tori sighed, snatching her phone back and showed me the picture again. '_I was hoping to avoid all this.._' "Explain this."

"She's in my yoga class." I shrugged, like it was no big deal because, truthfully, it wasn't. "Some paparazzi showed up and took that pic." I added, noticing the slight edge of irritation in my tone. "But, we're just friends." I looked away, hoping the matter was settled. Unfortunately, they weren't satisfied with my answer.

"Uh huh, and how did Jade react when she found out you were friends with Alyssa Vaughn?" Tori put air quotes around the word 'friends'. I would have been irritated by the insinuation, but the mention of Jade made me uncomfortable. I shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "Jade was cool with it.." I lied.

'_She was definitely not cool with it._' They seemed to see through my fib. My shoulders slumped. "She threw a rock at me.." Luckily I saw it coming so I managed to dodge it. I would have been surprised but I was used to Jade's violent tendencies by now. I still wouldn't meet Tori's eyes as I decided to drink to ward away the awkward tension.

"Yeah, well I'd be careful. Cause, I don't think Jade's the type to be okay with-" Suddenly, dozens of sheets of paper in bright orange floated down on top of me. I ducked, throwing my hands over my head to protect my hair, hearing Trina's voice boom over the PA system. '_What the chizz?_'

"Attention! Attention Everyone!" The annoying, older Vega giggled. I looked up, spotting her standing on the raised stage above us. Two boys were throwing the flyers over the railing. "Stop while I talk!" While she continued to talk, I shared a look with Tori and Andre before studying the sheet in my hands. It had a very unflattering picture of Trina taking up half the page. "Now, if you look at the flyers that just landed on you, you'll see that starting this friday night, I will be performing my own one-woman show called Trina!, with an exclamation point."

'Yeah..there's no way I'm going to that.' I glanced over towards my friends before peering up at Trina, again. "Now, if you look at these flyers, you'll see that.." One of the guys helping her, dropped the box and it fell on top of some guys head, knocking him to the ground. '_Ouch!_' I cringed, studying the guy. Trina didn't seem to care, instead asking her victim to pass them out. '_Yeesh..hope he's okay.._'

Later, I found out Tori was right. Jade cornered me outside one of my classes. Judging by the look on her face, I guessed she still wasn't over the whole Alyssa thing. There was a wild look in her eyes, and I thought I could see a vein in her jaw twitch. I turned away from her, walking the other way towards my locker. "Hey, we're not done talking about this!" I rolled my eyes, sighing.

"I am." I answered, not in the mood for her jealous fits, especially after she threw a rock at me.

"Well, I'm not." '_Of course you're not_' I thought bitterly, turning towards her.

I tried to keep my cool when I next spoke, my voice steady and gentle, even though inside I felt my anger bubbling, threatening to blow. "Listen..Alyssa Vaughn is just a friend.."

"Yeah, a friend who's already sent you six text messages today." '_wait..how did she know that?_' I was about to retort, when my phone bleeped. "Seven.." Jade added, her tone dripping with accusations. '_Oh my god, it's not like I'm cheating on her!_'

"Tch, you don't know that's her." I retorted, defensively.

"Is it?" She growled. I slid my phone from my pocket and glanced at the screen.

**Alyssa:** _Yeah, I'm sorry about that picture, again. But we're still down for yoga this week?_

I bit my cheek, trying to not look guilty when I looked up. '_Lucky guess..Ugh, I don't want to argue about this..oh!_' "What's your favorite tropical fruit?" I asked, trying to change the subject. It didn't work..

"The Mango." She rolled her eyes, and continued on. "And I don't your new little relationship with Alyssa Vaughn." '_It's not a relationship!_'

I waved my phone at her. "It's a text message" I corrected, turning to head to my locker.

"And what does it say? Maybe, Hi beck! My daddy just got richer and I just got prettier, let's make out!"

'_Are you serious?!_' I closed my locker, turning back to face her. My stoic exterior broke as I finally let my frustration show. "Okay, Let me see if I understand you."

"Let's see if you do." My jaw clenched. I took a moment to compose myself, breathing in and then out, slowly.

"Because, you and I date, I can't be friends with other girls?"

"You can be friends with ugly girls." '_Oh my god.._' I rolled my eyes, ready to walk away from her again. "But, not girls who are gorgeous socialites who text message you a hundred times a day!" '_A hundred times? Now she's just being ridiculous._'

"You know, you.." I paused, spotting Tori coming down the hall. '_Great, someone reasonable who will talk some sense into her_' "Tori, Tori!" I waved her over. She looked apprehensive. I hated drawing her into our fight, but I needed an outside opinion. Jade didn't seem to thrilled that I picked Tori of all people. In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea. "Can you come here?"

"What..?" She walked over hesitantly. Putting my hands together, I tried to think of how to word it.

"If you were my girlfriend.."

Jade scoffed with mock amusement. "Oh, great way to start the question.." I rolled my eyes, throwing my hand up to signal that I wasn't finished. Given their history though, she was right.

"Would you be all freaked out that I'm just friends with Alyssa Vaughn?"

"Who cares what she thinks?" Jade retorted. I shot her a look. '_I do!_' I looked back to Tori, waiting for her response. '_If anyone will tell Jade how unreasonable she's being, it's Tori._'

"Honestly? I wouldn't love it.." '_Wait, what?_'

"I care what she thinks.." Jade corrected herself, walking over and putting her arm around Tori like they were best friends all of a sudden. I rolled my eyes, smiling at how ridiculous the whole situation was. I couldn't believe Tori didn't take my side. She never struck me as the jealous type.

"How can you say that, you don't even-"

"You know, I really don't wanna be in the middle of this." Tori cut me off, turning to go but Jade stopped her.

"No you stay right here." Tori whined. There was a sinking feeling in my chest. I really thought Tori would have supported me. I looked between the two of them, Jade's gaze cold, Tori's apologetic and uncomfortable. I sighed.

"You don't think a girlfriend should just trust her boyfriend?" I asked, my shoulders falling with disappointment. My eyes stayed focused on Tori, drilling into her. '_I know you're more sensible than this.._'

"No, I do.." 'Aha!'

"Get out of here Tori!"

"I'd love to!"

I threw my hand up to stop her. "Stay!" With a groan, Tori walked back, joining Jade by her side once again.

"Alright, you know what?" I threw my gaze over to Jade, my expression wary.

"Tell me what." I shrugged. Tori started to panic.

"No, no no! Don't tell him what!"

"We're. Done."

"Jade!"

'_Are you kidding me?_' an involuntary laugh escaped, my eyebrows raising. "So, you're breaking up with me?"

"No, no, no, no. No she's not!" But the malicious glare Jade was giving me, said otherwise.

"Yeah, I am."

"Aw, she is.." I rolled my eyes, turning as Jade stomped past me. '_I can't believe she's dumping me after almost two years!_'

"You're being ridiculous!" I shouted after her. She spun around to face me, throwing her hands up. "What do you care?! I'm not your girlfriend anymore!"

I watched her turn the corner and leave. Frowning, I rolled my eyes and turned back to Tori. She gave me a sympathetic look. But, before I could say anything, she turned and ran off, leaving me alone in the hallway. '_I can't believe she broke up with me.._'

In a moment of uncontrolled rage, I kicked my foot out against a nearby locker before running my fingers through my hair. Sighing, I pulled my phone out, looking at the last message I received from Alyssa. I thought about texting back, but I just wasn't in the mood.

I spent the rest of the day in solitude. I didn't feel like being around my friends, and I avoided Jade like the plague. When school let out, I went home and locked myself up in my RV for the evening. Scrolling through my photo album, I flipped through all the pictures with Jade. There was a pain in my chest so great, I would have thought I was having a heart attack, if I wasn't only sixteen and in great shape. And, there was a heavy weight, dragging me down. It was on my shoulders, and settling in my stomach.

'_Maybe it's for the best..We were fighting all the time..Most teenage relationships don't last this long, anyway.._' I sighed, opening up the slap. I went to my profile. It still had me listed as in a relationship with Jade. I clicked on the status, then hesitated. Reluctantly, I opened the drop-down menu and selected single.

The next day didn't start out much better. I decided to forgo arriving early to school. For one, I didn't have to pick Jade up and two, I wanted to avoid seeing her outside of class. My first class with her, was Sikowitz's anyway. We sat on opposite sides of the room and I think he sensed the tension, because he didn't call on either of us.

While the others performed a skit, I felt my phone vibrate. I glanced towards Sikowitz who seemed more preoccupied with his coconut, and slipped my cell out. There was a text from Alyssa. She was offering to meet up for lunch. Biting my lip, I glanced over towards Jade. She refused to look at me, instead cutting up her script with a pair of scissors. '_Whatever.._' Frowning, I texted back.

**Beck:** _Hey Alyssa, would love to go with you. Where to?_

**Alyssa: **_Great! It's a Date. I'll pick you up! Thirty minutes okay?_

**Beck: **_Yeah, see you then._

An overwhelming sense of guilt settled in my gut. It writhed like snakes crawling just beneath my skin. My eyes focused on her previous text. 'It's a date.' Frowning, I glanced back over my shoulder towards Jade. I thought for a second I saw her looking at me. But, I must have imagined it. '_She broke up with you. You have no reason to feel bad._' I argued with myself. '_Besides, Alyssa probably didn't mean it like a real date.._'

Towards the end of class, I snuck out a bit early and stopped at my locker to put my things away. The hall was still empty when I walked out the front doors towards the parking lot. Alyssa was already waiting in a bright yellow convertible. "Wow! Nice wheels." A dazzling grin lit up her face as I dropped into the passenger seat. "So where to?"

"Hey Beck. I was thinking we'd get mongolian. There's this restaurant not far from here where they cook it right in front of you, kind of like hibachi."

"Ah, Interesting." I gave a nod and buckled my seatbelt as she peeled out of the parking lot. We didn't talk much on the way there, listening to the radio instead. The wait staff seated us immediately. They put us in a private corner that was partitioned off. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't respond to your text yesterday. I'm definitely still down for yoga."

"Oh good! I was worried that article would cause problems for you and your friends at school.." A worried wrinkle creased her forehead as we gave the waiter our order. I handed back my menu and shrugged.

"Eh..well..kinda. My girlfriend broke up with me. She wasn't too fond of me hanging out with you." I offered up a small smile and noticed her expression fall. She shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, don't feel bad. It's not your fault. She's always been jealous. She doesn't like me hanging out with any girls really." That didn't seem to comfort Alyssa much, but she forced a smile.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But, sounds like it's for the best. You can't have a healthy relationship without trust." I didn't respond. Part of me knew she was right, but the other part didn't want to admit it. I still cared about Jade. We were together for two years. It was hard to just throw that all away.

After that, the conversation switched to more pleasant topics. She told me about her latest work, upcoming auditions her agent set her up with, and about a guy she just started seeing. She didn't tell me who he was, but I got the sense it was going well. The conversation paused as our food was cooked in front of us. It was a pretty amazing experience. They pushed the food around the grill with large sticks.

After lunch ended, I pulled out my wallet to pay for my half but Alyssa stopped me, setting her credit card on the table. "Don't even think about it. This is one's on me. It's the least I can do for all the trouble I caused you."

"You didn't-"

"Anh! I don't want to hear it." I smiled, rolling my eyes. After she signed for it, we walked back out to her car. I started telling her about all of my friends and school. As we pulled into the parking lot over by the asphalt Cafe, I was in the middle of telling her about this script idea I was writing.

"You are amazing, you know that?" I grinned, shrugging sheepishly. Kids started to gather around the car, admiring the sporty vehicle. Some were staring at Alyssa though, their mouths hanging open.

"Nah, it's nothing like what you'd star in. Just a little student film.

"So what if it's just a student film. It sounds great! You'll have to send me a copy when you finish it." We shared a laugh and I gave a nod. Lunch was ending soon so I'd have to head back to class soon. Getting up, I shut the door behind me. "See you at Yoga!"

"Yeah, see ya!" I waved as she drove off and headed to salsa dancing. Jade wasn't there today. I was kinda glad, to be honest. I still missed her, but maybe Alyssa was right. I partnered up with the teacher again, and as the school day ticked by, the weight I felt on my shoulders previously, slowly started to lighten.

When I pulled into my driveway later that day, I was not expecting to see Jade's car sitting out front. '_Great..what does she want?_' Frowning, I cut the engine and got out. I found Jade sitting on my front step. She stood up, sticking her chin up defiantly, but I could see the nervousness in her stance as she picked at her nails. I raised my eyebrows, shoving my hands deep into my pockets.

"Beck..I think I overreacted a little."

"Oh, you think so, huh?" My arms folded. She dropped her gaze to the ground, shifting uncomfortably. '_Figures, I finally decide to move on and she comes crawling back._'

"I'm sorry. I was just afraid of losing you." The way she said it was so soft, it reminded me of a vulnerable child. I sighed, my irritation melting away. I felt my chest ache for her and there was a strong desire to forget everything and embrace her. '_But I have to hold my ground. Enough's enough._'

"That's the problem, Jade. You don't trust me. I chose you to be my girlfriend. You were the first girl I ever gave a chance and yet, you're constantly worried I'm looking for the next best thing. I'm tired of it." She refused to meet my eyes, shifting on the spot. "You broke up with me..and I didn't even do anything wrong. I'm sorry.." She said nothing, still standing there in front of my doorway. Closing my eyes, I fought back the wave of grief trying to rush over me. "I think you should go."

"P-please, give me another chance." I flinched, hearing the crack in her voice. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see the tears that were inevitably leaving streaks on her pale cheeks. When I didn't respond, I felt her reach for my face and I took a step back, shaking my head. My eyes opened to stare over her shoulder. '_If I look at her, I'll break.._' Finally, she dropped her hands to her side and we stood there in silence for a minute longer. She rushed by me and I heard the sob as she reached her car. I listened to her drive away as my own eyes began to sting. '_It's for the best.._'

I spent the rest of the late afternoon watching tv. It did wonders to get my mind off Jade. She seemed to have gone back to her regular self as well, judging by the comment she left on my slap profile.

**Jade:** _I can't believe you removed that you're in a relationship with me!_

**Beck:** _Well, you broke up with me._

**Jade:** _Fine! Well, I'm removing mine, too._

I rolled my eyes, throwing my phone to the side. Just then, I heard a knock at my door. I walked over to see my mother and our cleaning lady. "Oh, hey Mom. Consuela."

"Hi honey, I wanted to ask if you needed Consuela to clean anything up for you, since she's here." I stepped aside, allowing the elderly woman inside. "Sure, thank you." I was about to shut the door behind her when my mother stopped me. "Honey..is something wrong? You've seemed a bit blue lately." I sighed.

"Jade and I broke up…She didn't like me hanging out with other girls, so she dumped me." I could see my mom fighting the urge to smile as she fixed me with a concerned expression.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry.." I smiled, shaking my head.

"It's okay Mom. I know you and dad aren't her biggest fan."

"That doesn't mean I don't feel bad for you. I know you really cared about her." Another twinge in my chest struck through me but I shrugged it off.

"I'll be fine.." I stepped forward, giving her a hug and kissed her cheek. With that, she turned back towards the house and I shut the door. "Well Consuela, it's just you and me." I gestured to the TV. "Any preferences?" She waved a hand dismissively at me. I chuckled and shut it off,retrieving the script I'd been studying this week instead. "Let me know if I'm in the way. Just gonna do some homework."

It didn't take long for her to clean my RV. It wasn't very large and everything was mostly in one room, besides the bathroom which was more like a small closet. The sky outside was starting to get dark and I'd gone over my lines so much, I had them memorized. Tossing the book aside, I stood and decided to help Consuela clean up the last of the kitchen when the doorbell rang. '_That better not be Jade again.._' "Who is it?" Consuela called. The next voice I heard surprised me.

"I know that's you, Beck." I grinned as my elderly guest pushed the door open to leave.

"Thanks, Consuela.." I called after her, draping my arm over my open doorway. I looked down, eyeing Tori who was sporting a mild blush. Smirking, I waved her inside. "Enter.." '_I wonder what she's doing here.._'

I watched her look around the small living space, my nerves growing increasingly restless. A familiar feeling I hadn't experienced in weeks settled in my stomach as my insides jumped around. "So..this is where you live?" I cringed, grinning nervously as I pushed my hand into my hair.

"Is that bad?" '_Oh god, she hates it.._'

"No! It's cool! It's just, you know, most high school guys don't live in an RV parked in their parents' driveway." I felt a sense of relief pass over me as I walked by her further into my little home.

"Well, my parents said if I live under their roof, I gotta live by their rules.." I explained, shrugging. Understanding dawned on her face.

"Ahh, so your roof.."

"My rules." I smirked, watching her. She smiled, laughing softly but then a moment of awkwardness passed over us again. To busy myself, I grabbed a couple apples from the table. "Soo.." That weird, tingly sensation settled in the pit of my stomach returned and for the first time, I realized something. Jade and I weren't together anymore..I was free to explore any budding feelings I had towards Tori..if she wanted. '_Is that why she's here..?_'

"So, you're probably wondering why I'm here, like Hey, Tori's Here, whaddup with dat?" My eyebrows knit together as I looked away for a second, taken aback.

"That's how I talk?" 'I'm pretty sure I don't talk like that..' I chuckled, some of my nervousness dying away.

"No, that's just my generic boy voice."

I took a bite of my apple, kicking at the floor. "Ah..I like it. Do more." Smirking, I fell onto the couch, leaning back into the pillows. '_Why does she have to be so cute..?_'

"okay..um..Hey man, why don't you get back together with Jade? You know what I'm sayin? Yeah."

'_Oh.._' I frowned, sitting forward as I let her words sink in. She stood there awkwardly, waiting for a response. "I should get back together with Jade..?" I asked. The nerves left my stomach, replaced with a sinking feeling I was growing all too familiar with. Disappointment. Tori nodded, though she didn't seem all that convinced either. I rolled my eyes. "Why?"

"Cause..she's..you know..Awesome?"

'uh huh..that's convincing..' Ignoring my disappointment, I pushed myself up to my feet. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm glad Jade and I broke up." I stated plainly, shaking my head.

"Why?" And Tori honestly looked surprised. I was confused. I figured Tori, more than anyone, would understand.

"Because, I can't remember the last time she did one nice thing for me." I chuckled at the realization, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, come on. Didn't you just have a birthday? She didn't give you anything for your birthday?" I closed my eyes for a second before slowly approaching her. When Tori showed up at my door, I thought she was there to talk about us..not Jade. Though I had been ignoring my feelings for her, out of respect for my relationship with Jade, I thought Tori reciprocated them. '_I guess I was wrong.._'

"She got me a can of lemonade.." I gave a curt nod, raising my eyebrows at Tori's dumbfounded expression. '_Oh yeah._'

"Oh.." I watched her resolve melt away as I took a bite from the apple.

"So, is that all you came here for?" I asked dully. Tori shifted under my stare, dropping her gaze to the middle of my chest. Silence settled over us. The only sound was our breath, but I could feel a charge grow in the air between us. The hairs on my skin stood up as my skin began to simmer under the surface. I stepped closer. Though we didn't touch, I felt the electricity pass between us. Apparently Tori felt it too, because she jumped and turned away.

"Uh, Yep, gotta go!" And with that, she swung my door open and jumped out. I stood there, blinking. '_What just happened?_' Walking over to my open door way, I looked out into the dark street and saw her brown hair whipping around the corner. '_Oookay.._' Frowning, I turned back inside and shut the door behind me, locking it for the rest of the night.

The next day didn't go much better. I was avoiding Jade and Tori was avoiding me. And, since all of our mutual friends sat with Tori at lunch, I ended up at a table alone. Well, not necessarily alone. I spent most of lunch surrounded by desperate girls trying to touch my hair. I humored them for as long as possible before abandoning my food and heading inside. I hid out in the black box theater until my next class. After school, I auditioned for the play I'd been studying for. Even knowing I got the part didn't lift my spirits.

When I got home, Mom called me inside the house. "Hey honey, I'd love it if you helped me fix dinner tonight. It's been a while since we had a meal together, as a family." I gave a half-hearted smile, nodding.

"Sure.."

"Still upset about Jade..?" I shook my head, setting a pot on the stove and grabbing a can of beans. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah..I just... Mom, how did you know Dad was it for you?" I dumped the beans out, turning on the burner. I could feel her eyes burning holes into me, but she didn't drop everything she was doing.

"Well, I just knew. It's a feeling you get. I can't really describe it." I sighed. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but you'll know when the time comes. Trust me." She reached over, rubbing my back. We shared a smile. "But you're too young to think about those things now. Give it time."

We spent the rest of the time in silence. I helped out a little, until she told me to go set the table. Once that was done, I went into the living room to wait. I watched TV in the meantime, though I wasn't really paying attention to it. My thoughts were on Jade and Tori and the feelings I had for both of them. I'm positive I love Jade. Part of me will always love her, I'm sure. But, I knew it wasn't the earth-shattering-for-all-eternity kind of love. My mom was right, I was too young for that. '_If we hadn't broken up, would it have grown into that though?_'

And then there was Tori. I wasn't sure what my feelings for her were, yet. Was I merely attracted to her? I liked her. I cared about her. She was a sweet and genuine person. But she was just my friend. She has only ever been my friend. Whatever happened last night was probably due to hormones. Right? '_I never experienced that with anyone else though_..'

"Dinner's ready!" I shut off the TV and entered the dining room. Mom already had the meal out on the table. We sat down across from each other. I glanced at my watch. It was 6:30.

"Is Dad coming?'

"He said he'd be here. We'll just get started without him." I shrugged and filled my plate. There was baked chicken and an assortment of side dishes: Mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, salad. Minutes ticked by. My mom asked me about school. I was thankful she avoided asking me questions about my love life.

By eight, we had both finished our dinner. Dad still wasn't there. "He probably got held up in surgery or something.." I could tell by the look in her eyes, that she was frustrated with him though. I simply nodded. "Do you want dessert." Shaking my head, I stood up, grabbing my dish.

"No, Mom. It's alright. Let me clean up for you."

"Alright, but save a plate for your father." The phone rang at that moment and she ran off to get it. I could hear her from the living room as I cleared the table. I did as she said, fixing a plate for my dad, and left it in the microwave.

"You said you'd be here nearly two hours ago!" I sighed, putting unused dishes away and stuffing the leftovers into the fridge. "You're always stuck at work! We hardly ever get to be with him as a family! The least you could do is keep your promises." I tried to block out her conversation as I washed the dishes in the sink. "Well, he's sixteen. It won't be long til he moves even further than the driveway and then it'll be too late!" I heard the phone slam down. When my mom rounded the corner, I offered a smile, pretending I didn't hear any of that. "Your father apologizes...He got held up. Just like I said." I nodded.

"Um..dishes are done. I'm gonna go work on homework." I saw her smile falter a little and walked over, kissing her forehead. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too.."

About an hour later, my dad knocked on my door.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" I sighed, gesturing him inside.

"I guess I'll stay in my old room.." Shutting the door behind me, I headed back into my parents' house. My old bedroom wasn't completely empty. I still had a few clothes in the closet and my old bed. They basically used it as a guest room now. The walls were bare, however, and the only source of entertainment was an old box tv. It still worked though.

Spotting a VHS copy of 'on the waterfront' I smiled, popping it in. I kept the volume down as I watched. By now, it was pitch black outside and my mom was probably in bed, so I kept the lights off. The only source of light in the room coming from my television. I paused the movie about halfway in and went downstairs to look for leftovers. That's when I heard the commotion outside.

I couldn't make out any individual words, but I heard the distinct sound of girls screaming, along with a guy's and a heavy banging. Running outside, I saw Jade and Tori. They were banging on the windows and my RV was rocking back and forth. "What's going on?!" I hollered. The girls whipped around, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Ahhh!"

"Beck?!"

'What the chizz!?'

"How can you be out here?"

"You're in there, being mauled by a dog!"

"A dog?!" I felt my own eyes go wide as I ran over to the door, banging my hand against it. "My dad's in there!" Panic quickened my pulse as I reached for the handle and swung it open. I came face to face with a large beast of a dog, his teeth long, sharp, and bared menacingly. I quickly slammed the door shut, backing away. "OH! Woah! That's a big dog!" I flinched, pointing at the door. Getting over my shock, I went to the window to peek through the curtains. My dad's hands slapped against the window as he screamed, the dog barking and growling in the background. We all jumped back.

"Call 911!" I yelled. Tori pulled out her cell and dialed. We had to listen to the attack, helplessly until animal control arrived. Eventually they got the dog calmed down and paramedics went inside to retrieve my dad. They loaded him onto a stretcher and began lifting him into the ambulance. "I'll meet you at the hospital!"

"Okay.." He groaned.

"We're sorry!

"So Sorry."

"Ohh..whyyyy..?" I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I lowered my gaze to the ground. I shook my head. '_This is the worst week of my life.._'

"He'll be fine.." I looked up, nodding towards the Paramedic. "Thanks.." She walked over then, reaching out to play with the collar of my shirt. "Hey..are you in college yet?" '_ugh! What the-Ew!_' I frowned, leaning away from her as Jade grabbed my arm.

"Byyyye!" She sneered. For once, I welcomed her possessive nature. That was beyond creepy, even for me. I watched the ambulance drive off, the night's events finally catching up to me. I was frustrated, worried, and exhausted. I walked away from the girls, heading towards the house to inform my mom. However, Jade stopped me.

"Tori told me to get you a dog!"

"Dude!" I rolled my eyes, turning towards Jade.

"Okay! It was kind of my idea. But I didn't think the dog would bug out like that. I just wanted you to have a dog, because I know you've talked about getting one ever since.." I was speechless.

I listened to her ramble, frantically and all of the negative feelings I had been harboring against her melted away, leaving only the good. Suddenly the weight I'd been carrying around the last few days lifted off of me, my chest swelling with this warmth I hadn't felt since we first started dating. I pulled her towards me, my lips crashing on hers. Her own mouth parted in surprise and I seized the opportunity to deepen it. She quickly responded, melting against me. We stayed like that for a while longer before I pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"You love me again.." She smiled softly. I gave her my signature smirk, quirking an eyebrow. "Who said I stopped..?"

"Awww.." '_Oh yeah. Tori's still here._' I was surprised I'd forgotten her presence. Jade and I both looked at her. "I ruined the moment.." Tori turned away awkwardly. '_Naah.._'

"It's cool..and I really do owe you." I raised my brows as I watched the exchange. It was uncharacteristically sweet for Jade. '_Wow..that's surprising.._'

My gaze moved back to Jade's and I felt a strong urge to kiss her again, my stomach filling with a fluttering sensation. Our lips joined together, my hand resting on the small of her back. I felt her teeth graze over my bottom lip as I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss again, our tongues performing a tango. She tasted just like I remembered, like coffee, sugar, and a faint hint of mango.

"Hey..um..It's getting kinda late, so I was wondering if maybe you could drive me home?" Jade peeled her mouth from mine, turning around to snap at Tori shortly. "It's not that far a walk." And then we were glued together again. '_Okay, so maybe they weren't quite friends yet, but..progress.._' My thoughts were quieted by the intimate moment we shared, Jade's perfume drowning my senses. She smelled like, Lilacs.

"Try not to swallow each other!" We smiled into the kiss.


	11. Tori, the Zombie

**A/N: **I am so, so, so sorry! I know it's been a long time, much longer than usual, since I last updated. But no fear, I haven't abandoned this story. I had a lot of difficulty writing this chapter. The episode jumps around a lot between Tori and Cat/Trina, and I needed to fill in those empty gaps we don't get to see. So between writers block, and real-life being busy, and just generally not being satisfied with anything I wrote, I did suffer a loss of motivation. But, tonight, here it is! Hope you like it. And yes, it is **HEAVILY** Bori, sorry Bade shippers. Your time will come.

Tori the Zombie

Things between Jade and I improved for a little while. She reigned in her jealousy and I stopped texting Alyssa Vaughn so much, or rather, she stopped texting me. Either way, our conversations outside of yoga class were limited.

"Now that we're back together, I think we should update your profile pic." Jade and I were sitting in my RV, enjoying some time alone after school, when she took my phone from me.

"What's wrong with my current pic?" I asked, raising both eyebrows. She slid closer on my sofa. Rather than answer my question, she surprised me with a kiss. My lids grew heavy over my eyes, my arms snaking around her as I sank back into the cushions. I was just about to deepen the kiss, when I heard the camera function go off and felt her pull away. Blinking away my confusion, I snatched my phone back. "What are you doing?" I brought my phone up, checking out the photo of us kissing, before giving her a disapproving look. I wasn't that big into PDA, beyond holding each other.

"What? Don't you want to show everyone how much we love each other?" Her tone was overly sweet an innocent, but I could see through it easily. Sighing, I pulled up the slap to change my photo. As much as I didn't want to encourage her behavior, I wanted to avoid a fight even more. Things were going well between us, why change that now?

**Beck: **_So Jade made me change my profile pic to let other girls know that we're back together. But it's a good pic, so I'll leave it up for awhile._

After typing out the status update, I tossed my phone aside. Eyeing Jade, I caught a smug smile on her lips. "Well, now you owe me." I threw her a playful smirk. Jade thrust an eyebrow up, her smile fading. Before she could retort I rolled over, hovering above her, forcing her to lie on her back, and crashed my lips down on hers. My ears picked up the subtle gasp as her lips parted against mine, allowing me the chance to delve deeper. The sweet taste of strawberries danced on my tongue.

We stayed like that well into the evening, desperately gasping for air between heated kisses. Our hands caressed each other, her nails dragging across my shoulders, my fingers kneading her hips, until our hair and clothes were sufficiently mussed. It wasn't until a bleeping broke through the silence, that we finally pulled apart. I rolled off, reaching for my laptop.

"What is it?" Jade gasped, combing her fingers through her dark tresses, trying to rid it of tangles. I sat up straighter, looking over the message I'd received in my school email.

"Oh, It's a reminder about auditions for the new play. Uptown, Downtown." Closing the computer, I turned to resume our previous activity, but Jade was already gathering her things. "Where-"

"I've got to head home. It's getting late. Auditions are tomorrow? I better get ready." She pressed her lips to my cheek and ran out, leaving me alone. Sighing, I looked around the otherwise empty RV. '_Oh well..probably for the best._' For the rest of the evening, I went over the play's script, practicing lines.

The next day, after school, everyone gathered in the Black Box theater. Auditions went on for two hours. Besides Jade and I, Tori and Robbie also tried out, among others. Robbie wasn't terrible, but there was definitely room for improvement. He had a habit of overacting. Tori did pretty well. Although, after seeing her perform the Bird Scene, I wasn't surprised. Jade was great, but given her harsh personality, she wasn't right for the lead. Once auditions concluded, the director announced the cast list would be posted the next day.

So, the next morning, we all arrived early to check the list. Tori got the lead role, while Robbie and I were set to play her love interests. Jade wasn't too happy about this, but I could see she was trying to keep her cool. She didn't cause a scene or take it out on me, thankfully. During rehearsals, she even managed to keep her snide comments to a minimum.

"Ready? Action!" A couple weeks later, we were coming up on opening night. I stood off to the left of the stage, waiting for my line as Robbie and Tori rehearsed under a spotlight.

"I don't know.." Tori said, uncertainly.

"Oh, Come on! Why can't you admit that you're in love with me?" I fought to keep a straight face as Robbie delivered his lines.

"Why are you in love with me?"

"Because you're beautiful. Look at your face in the moonlight."

"I can't."

"You can."

"No..a person can't look at their own face. It's impossible." I smiled as Tori's character pointed out the obvious. '_That's true.._'

"Then marry me and I'll buy you a thousand mirrors."

"But that's so many!"

"My father's a billionaire. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. And, I'm very good looking." I threw my hand up to cover my mouth as fought a laugh. '_I can't with this right now!_'

"Mmm...yeah.." Tori didn't sound too convinced, either.

"Think." Robbie exited the stage and I took a breath, pulling an emotionless mask.

"And lights, go." Up above, Sinjin flipped a switch and light illuminated me. I looked towards Tori as she turned to face me, her face wrought with indecision.

"I don't know!"

"It's okay, that you don't know.." I turned towards her, stepping closer.

"But you deserve an answer.."

"I can wait." My gaze softened as I continued to deliver my lines as written. "For you, I would wait a thousand years."

"But that's so many!"

"I know I'm poor..I know I don't have much to offer but..I do love you.." When acting, I always try to put myself in the character's shoes, to become them fully. I try to imagine what they think and feel. But, I couldn't help doubting myself, facing Tori then. '_Why am I so nervous..?_' My stomach was tightening, a familiar feeling I hadn't experienced in weeks.

Tori turned away from me, a crease forming between her brows. "Because I'm beautiful?"

"I don't love you because you're beautiful.." I replied firmly, my hand coming to rest on her bare shoulder. Her skin was smooth and warm, making my palm burn as I spun her to face me. Locking my eyes on her, I fought to keep my voice steady as I softly uttered "You're beautiful, because I love you.."

"Whoa.." We gazed at each other, my hand slowly dropping from her shoulder, allowing my fingertips to brush down the length of her arm. I could feel the goosebumps on her skin. In that moment, I think we both forgot about the play. Thankfully, Sinjin distracted everyone when disco music suddenly filled the auditorium. All eyes turned towards the pale tech nerd. '_Why..?_'

"What up with the disco?!" Jade yelled, asking the question that lingered on everyone's mind.

"I'm sorry! I hit the wrong thing!"

"No! Fifteen years ago, your mother **gave** **birth** to the wrong thing!" '_Ouch..That's cold._' I shot a disapproving look towards Jade, but she didn't see it.

"Alright, Why don't we take a break? Tori, Beck, you guys were great, really nice stuff." I smiled appreciatively towards our director before turning to talk with Tori.

"You were pretty good in that scene."

"Not so bad yourself, Oliver." We shared a laugh before Jade called for everyone's attention.

"Guys! Guys, everyone shut up a second!"

"Whatcha got?" I asked, following Tori over as everyone gathered around.

"An E-mail from Principal Eikner."

"That says..?" Jade shot Tori a glare, though the other girl seemed unphased by it. I suppressed a grin.

"To all students involved in our school's production of Uptown,Downtown, Sofia Michelle will be in Los Angeles the weekend of the 17th and will be personally attending your opening night performance." A chorus of interested chatter filled the auditorium. '_Wow..That's..intimidating._' I suddenly felt ten times more nervous as I shared a glance with Tori.

I wasn't nearly as nervous as our director, however, because shortly after hearing the news, he ran out of the theater clutching his stomach. "Who's Sofia Michelle?" '_Did she really just ask that?_' I looked to Tori, brows furrowing as Jade groaned.

"Ohh..noo..noo..noo!" Jade reached for my hand, pulling me with her across the room only to drop into an empty chair. Moving behind her, I set my hands on my girlfriend's shoulders, kneading circles into her stiff muscles. "She gets to be the lead and she doesn't even know who Sofia Michelle is.."

"Wait, is she the lady who does those infomercials with the vibrating hairbrush?" '_just digging a deeper hole, Tor.._'

"I love that hairbrush!" Again, we all looked to Sinjin with the same bemused expression. '_Why is he so weird..?_'

"Look at the cover of your script." Robbie went on to explain to Tori who Sofia was. Meanwhile the director came back in, guzzling water. '_Probably washing out the taste of his own vomit.._' He went on to offer words of 'encouragement' but then Rex made a comment, causing the director to rush back out again. '_Well this is just gonna be great._' Disco blasted from the speakers again, drowning my thoughts.

"Will you kill the disco?!"

"No one can kill disco!" Sinjin danced up in the rafters while simultaneously brushing his hair with the aforementioned vibrating brush. '_Where did he..nevermind. I don't want to know._'

While Sinjin rocked out, the rest of us decided to call it quits and left. The director was too preoccupied with his nervous stomach to continue rehearsals.

"You hungry, Babe?" I asked, throwing an arm around Jade's shoulders. I walked her outside towards the parking lot, directing her towards my truck.

"Hmm..I could eat.." With a grin, I spun her around, pressing her back against the passenger side door, and descended on her neck. My lips lightly caressed her pale skin, allowing my warm breath to tickle her bare throat. I felt her shudder in my arms.

"Where do you want to go?" My voice was soft, smooth like velvet, as it danced over her skin. Leaving a trail of kisses up her neck, I nibbled at her jawline. Jade's knees began to buckle as she melted against me. "Can't decide?" I prodded, playfully. She appeared to be struck speechless, for the only response I got back was a low moan.

"How about..wraps?" I pulled back to view the results of my attentive care. Her eyes were glossed over and a pleasant rosy hue colored her normally pale cheeks. Jade responded with a slow, lazy nod and I helped her climb into the cab of my truck, chuckling. She hit me, though not hard, after the daze wore off. It was well worth it.

Lunch passed by with nothing of note, and then it was back to classes. When school ended, I drove Jade home and decided to accompany her inside, up to her room. "Do you mind running over some lines with me?" I asked, falling back onto her bed. I tugged the playbook from my bag which I'd dropped on the floor next to me.

"Sure..though I don't see how Vega got the lead.." I rolled my eyes but chose not to get into it. We practiced lines for the next hour. She would read Tori's part for me, and then I'd read whatever part she needed to practice her own. "Don't you want to practice your song?" I looked up, shrugging. I didn't like to sing all that much, as it was definitely not my strongest talent. I never really wanted to pursue a music career. "I guess we can..hold on." I reached for my phone when I heard the notification bell sound. "It's Andre."

**Dre:** _Dude, I just left Tori's. Cat, Trina, and Tor were all shouting at each other. Check the slap._

Frowning, I pulled up it up and scrolled through my feed. Nothing really jumped out at me, though I did see a recent status update from Tori.

**Tori:** _I just made 2 little girls scream and run away with their cookies._

**Mood = Bummed**

"What's he want?" I looked up quickly, having forgotten where I was and who with. Shrugging, I shut my phone off and tossed it aside.

"I don't know. Something about Cat and Tori getting into it." The roll of her teal gaze did not go unnoticed. '_I wish she'd just be friends with Tor..It'd make things so much easier._' Sitting up, I reached for her hands to draw her close. "Don't..Let's just enjoy each other's company.." I brought Jade's mouth to mine in a chaste kiss, but she soon pulled away again.

"No, it's getting late. You should probably get home. I'll see you tomorrow." Sighing heavily, I stood up, scooping up my belongings. "Oh and don't worry about picking me up tomorrow. I'll drive myself."

"Okay, sure.." Shrugging, I headed back downstairs. Jade led me to the door and we shared another kiss goodbye before I stepped out into the night. I picked up pizza on the way home and spent the evening alone in my RV, rehearsing songs in the comfort of complete solitude. Once I was satisfied with my vocals, I washed up and retired to my bed.

Try as I might, sleep continued to evade me. My thoughts lingered on events of the day; rehearsals with Tori, the abrupt parting with Jade, and the curious text from Andre, followed by Tori's status. Reaching for my phone, I flipped it open, scrolling through my messages. I stopped on Tori's name.

**Beck:** _You up?_

I didn't think to check the time until after I'd hit send. 11:36 shone brightly across my retinas. '_She's probably asleep by now.._' I dropped my phone on the shelf above my bed. Staring up at the ceiling, the time floated in my vision, a shadow that slowly faded until I could see clearly through the dark. Just as I was about to give up on a response, a flash drew my attention. Snatching up my phone, I checked my notifications.

_1 new message_

**Tori: **_Yeah, I'm up. What is it?_

My brow thrust skyward. '_That's surprising. I figured she'd be asleep by now, considering tomorrow is the first night of our play._' A small smile lingered on my lips as I typed out a reply. Surprised or not, I always felt a glimmer of happiness whenever Tori and I conversed.

**Beck:** _Dre mentioned you and Cat got into a fight. Do you want to talk about it?_

**Tori:** _Not really. You'll find out tomorrow._

'_What does that mean?_' My smile faltered, my eyebrows cinching together.

**Beck:** _?_

**Tori:** _Don't worry about it now._

**Beck:** _Okay, well what about your slap status?_

**Tori: **_Girlscouts. Can we talk about something else?_

My heart sank as concern twisted my guts, gnawing at my insides. Tori wasn't usually this closed off. In fact, other than Cat, she was probably the warmest, most open person I knew.

**Beck:** _Are you okay?_

At first, there was no response. Then, for several minutes it seemed, I watched as the typing indicator '**...**' flashed on and off the screen for different lengths of time, until:

**Tori: **_Yeah, I'm fine. :)_

I didn't believe her, but it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it. I wasn't ready to say goodnight, however. So, searching for something else to say, I changed subjects.

**Beck: **_You did well in rehearsals today. For someone who's never acted before, you're quite the natural. ;)_

**Tori: **_Aww, thanks! Not so bad yourself, Oliver. ;)_

My mouth spread into a grin. Tori and I continued talking for a while longer. We discussed the play, Sinjin's odd behavior, and school. Then we went on to talk about anything and everything, likes and dislikes, movies, food, dreams. The clock on my screen flashed to two am before I finally felt my lids grow heavy with sleep.

**Tori:** _Oh wow! It's so late. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Beckett. ;)_

**Beck:** _See you tomorrow, Victoria. Sweet dreams. Xo_

The next day at school, I arrived a few minutes early. Jade was already there, waiting at my locker. "Hey Babe." I pecked her on the cheek before retrieving my books for the first few classes of the day.

"Hey, I'm sorry about last night. I just didn't want to deal with my mom.." I straightened up, tossing my bag over my shoulder and turned towards Jade. Her eyes were on the floor, refusing to meet mine.

"Hey.." I lifted her chin. "You don't have to explain. I get it." Offering up a smile, I drew her against my chest, hugging her securely. But then, a rumble of voices broke through the tender moment and we turned to see a crowd forming near the entrance. At the center was..well I wasn't sure what it was. "Who is that..?"

"Oh..my..god..It's Vega!" Jade sounded a little too pleased, a cackle quickly following.

"How can you tell?" But sure enough, the girl squeezed past the throng of students and stopped at Tori's locker. I recognized the oversized bag she always carried. Keeping my arm around Jade's waist, I walked over. "Tori..?" '_what the chizz is wrong with her face…?_' Reluctantly the other girl turned around, eyes on the ground, but the zombie make-up was plain as day.

"What's wrong Vega? Did you forget to wear make-up today?"

"Jade!" I gave my girlfriend a pointed look. She only shot a cold glare back before smiling gleefully at Tori who had turned to hide her face in her locker. "Tori..what happened? Does this have anything to do with the argument you got into with Cat last night?"

"Uuggh!" Tori slammed the door shut, turning to face us again. Though it was hard to read her expression, the frustration in her eyes was undeniable. "I let Cat practice her special effects make-up on me last night and she used Grizzly glue and now I can't get it off!" '_Oooh!...that's..eesh.._' I cringed, shaking my head.

Jade, on the other hand, doubled over in laughter. I rolled my eyes and gave Tori a sympathetic look. "You kind of look like my aunt Ruth.." I added. That managed to make Tori smile..I think. The gruesome mask made it hard to tell.

"So..do you have a plan? Cause I don't think Mr. Hamwell will handle this very well." I asked, gesturing towards her face. Tori's shoulders fell with a huge sigh, her body turning to lean back against her locker in defeat. Beside me, Jade was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Cat and Trina are going to Bakersfield to get the solvent, after school. They should be back before the play even starts, I hope." I nodded my agreement. '_Yeah..me too.._'

"Yeah, I'm sure that will go over real well. You can always trust Cat and your stupid sister to pull through in a crunch." Jade's sarcastic tone was accompanied by the cheshire grin she always seemed to save, just for Tori. My own gaze narrowed as I looked to her, my mouth forming a stern line. Judging by the look in Tori's eyes, Jade's words only discouraged her even more, her usually warm brown pools darkening as hope started to die down like barely glowing embers.

"Jade, you're not helping." Her shoulders lifted in a careless shrug just as the bell rang. With that, she marched off towards her first class. Turning towards Tori, I offered a sympathetic smile. "Want me to walk with you to class?" The halls were quickly emptying. I watched her look around before giving a meek nod. Maintaining my encouraging demeanor, I placed my palm on the small of her back and led her away to our media course.

Whispers followed Tori all day. When Jade wasn't pulling me away, I spent as much time possible with Tor, walking her to classes and throwing intimidating glances towards anyone that dared look at her funny. At lunch, Tori and I hid in the rafters above the theater. When Jade inquired about my whereabouts during Salsa class, I decided it best to lie. Why incur her jealous wrath over nothing?

"Oh, I have an exam in chemistry so I ate in my truck and studied." I didn't have an exam, but she didn't know that, of course. Finally, as soon as the bell rang for the end of classes, I raced from the room and made my way quickly to the theater. Tori was already there, explaining the situation to Mr. Hamwell, our director and substitute teacher. Sikowitz was usually in charge of all the drama productions, but he had a habit of missing school alot. It's a wonder he hasn't been fired for it.

The rehearsal went by pretty smoothly, minus a couple hiccups here and there. Everyone knew their lines by heart at this point. The hard part, was trying to ignore Tori's appearance and act as though she were the most beautiful thing in the world. I had trouble pretending to be in love with her, especially when all I could picture was my great aunt. I had to keep reminding myself it was only temporary and Cat would be back soon to fix it.

"That was Dynamite! Except Robbie.." Everyone scattered, myself and a few others heading backstage.

"So, you think Cat will show up in time to get that crap of Vega's face?" Jade pulled me out into the hall, leading me toward the vending machines as she spoke. I shrugged, retrieving my wallet.

"I hope so, but this is Cat we're talking about here.." I bought a couple drinks and some chips, handing Jade her share. She scowled, ripping open the chip bag.

"Vega better not screw this up for us, especially since Sofia MIchelle's coming tonight! What if Cat doesn't get here in time?" Once again, my shoulders rose and fell. '_I don't know..She'll probably be offended._' I chose not to voice my concerns aloud. At the moment, I was more worried about how to act around Tori's new look.

I followed Jade back inside, taking a seat in the audience with our other cast mates. I let my gaze fall on Tori. She was off alone, in the corner talking to someone on the phone. She looked just as concerned as I was. I could see it in her eyes. '_Her eyes..maybe if I just focus on her eyes.._'

I smiled, picturing her warm brown gaze. Monster make-up or no, Tori's chocolate pools were still the same. They were the first things I noticed about her when we met. Picturing them now, stirred something inside me that twisted my stomach into knots and made my pulse quicken.

Two hours later and Cat was a no show. The auditorium was already starting to fill up. I spotted Robbie peeking through the split in the curtains and wandered over to pull them apart just enough to poke my head out as well. "Hey, Hey, here comes our playwright."

"Oh, my god, it's Sofia Michelle!" Robbie and I watched her take a seat in the front row. Suddenly I was overcome with a sense of nervousness, my stomach churning. I hadn't been nervous for a performance in so long, but then again, the writer was never in attendance before and the leading lady didn't look like a monster straight out of a B rated horror movie. '_Oh no..she's going to hate us.._'

We disappeared back behind the curtains to finish setting up, just as the Director ran backstage and confront Tori.

"Tori!?"

"I know, but they're still not back with the solvent!"

"Well, we're on in two minutes and you still look disgusting!"

"I could play the lead." I wasn't surprised Jade was trying to steal the part. He didn't go for it though and she stormed off. Shaking my head, I tried to focus on my lines, studying the first scene just to refresh it in my mind.

"Okay! Curtains up! Places everyone!" I rushed off stage and looked across to the other side. Tori was still in her zombified state. I raised my hands, silently communicating with her. '_What's up? Where's Cat?_'

She shrugged disheartenedly. '_Don't know_.'

The curtains opened then, polite applause filling the theater as the first scene began. "So, I'm on my private Jet.."Robbie was sitting on stage with his rich friend, retelling a story obnoxiously. "Almost halfway to Barcelona, when I say to the pilot, I've changed my mind. Take a left, we're going to prague!"

"You're too much!"

"Aren't i?" While the pair shared a laugh, I rushed out on stage in a bellhop's uniform and picked up the suitcases resting next to Rob.

"Hey, hey hey, you there!"

Hesitating, I turned my attention to Robbie. "Yes, Sir?"

"That luggage is very expensive! Don't just toss it around like a monkey!" '_might want to tone it down a bit.._'

"I'm Sorry..It's jus-" I began, doing my best to sound sincere, when the other guy interrupted with his line.

"Woah, woah, woah! Check out the girl coming this way."

"Oh my god, she's..gorgeous." I looked up then, my eyes locking on Tori's as she started to make her entrance.

"She's beautiful.." I looked up, my eyes locking on Tori's. I tried to see past the monstrous appearance, recalling her flawless face from the back of my mind. Picturing her prominent cheekbones her sun-kissed complexion made my chest swell with an emotion I couldn't quite place. At the very least, it aided me in achieving the appropriate expression.

The audience, unfortunately, could only see a zombie. There were whispered murmurs and, glancing towards them, I noticed many looks of confusion and shock, especially Sofia's. '_Oh...crap.._' Tori didn't look very comfortable either. As the play went on, however, people seemed to get over the initial shock and Tori eased into her performance.

"Bellhop! Get that woman's bag!" Snapping from my thoughts, I looked to Robbie as he stood and gestured towards Tori. I gave a quick nod, setting down the luggage I carried and approached Tori, offering my hand.

"May I take your bag, Miss?" We locked eyes again, staring intensely until Robbie shoved me aside and took Tori by the hand, bending to kiss the back of her palm.

"Pardon me, m'lady. He's a but a simple-minded bellhop. Keeping him employed is really a charity. Not a nickel to his name." Frowning, I shot a glare towards the back of Robbie's head before taking Tori's suitcase. "Chip Rutherford, at your service." I crossed the stage, grabbing a luggage cart and began piling suitcases on it while they talked.

"Penny, thank you." Her tone was polite, but there were subtle hints of distaste as Tori pulled her hand away. "I thought he seemed rather nice, actually." Looking over my shoulder, I smiled towards 'Penny'. Chip brushed her words off with a forced laugh.

"Ha,ha,ha! Right, of course. Well, welcome to Rutherford hotel. Follow me and I'll get the staff to check you in. My family owns this hotel, don't you know!" He led Tori over to the front desk for check in and I pushed the cart off stage.

"Maxwell! Put Miss Penny in one of our suites!"

"Oh no! I can't afford that-"

"Nonsense! For you? Fifty percent off! A woman of your beauty deserves only the best!"

"Oh my, thank you, Sir. But, I'm not that beautiful…" I watched Tori and Rob's exchange from behind the curtains. Rob's character continued to flirt with Tori while she checked in and Penny tried to brush off his advances, humble as ever. Then Jade marched on stage with a haughty air about her.

"Chip! Did you forget about our lunch date?" She stopped beside Robbie, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she looked Tori up and down. "Who is this?"

"Ah, dear! This is Penny. She's a new guest, here at the hotel. Um, actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Placing his hand on Jade's back, he led her back off stage from whence she came. Meanwhile, the desk manager handed Tori her key.

"23rd floor, room 2310." And with that Tori walked off shortly afterward and the curtains closed. The backdrop lifted and stagehands ran out to change props.

With the stage now resembling a suite, I walked back out, carrying Penny's suitcase. The curtains opened just as I was setting the luggage next to a small dining table. The sound of a door opening and closing went off, just as Tori walked back from the opposite side.

"Oh! Sorry, you surprised me."

I spun around, facing Penny and bowed quickly. "Ah, sorry Miss. I didn't mean to startle you. I was just delivering your bag." Straightening back up, I offered a warm smile. We gazed at each other again, silence hanging in the air between us for a long minute. "Um..anyway, I should get out of your hair.." I wiped my palms nervously on my pants and made my way past her, towards the exit.

Tori's hand flew up, catching me by the shoulder. I stopped, turning to face her. "Wait! Um..I'm sorry.."

"What for, Miss?" I inquired, my brows furrowing as a small frown tugged at my lips.

"What that man..Mr. Rutherford said. It was rude." My face softened with a sad smile as I shrugged my shoulders. Her hand slowly dropped from my arm.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to such treatment." I walked a few paces toward the exit, before halting. Turning back around, I gave a sheepish smile, running my hand back through my hair. "But, you were wrong Miss.." Confusion clouded Tori's gaze. "I think you're very beautiful.." Her eyes widened, stunned. I turned to leave but she called after me.

"Wait! What's your name?"

Without turning back.."Thomas, miss. Friends call me Tommy.." And with that, I walked off stage. The lights turned out and a spotlight opened up on Tori for her first song. While she sang, I quickly changed out of my bellhop costume into some street clothes. The scene ended with a maid delivering flowers to Penny's suite carrying an invitation to dinner from Chip.

The curtains closed to enthusiastic applause. No matter her appearance, there was no denying Tori's voice. Her vocals could enchant even the toughest audience. Stage crew changed the setting again while the rest of the cast members changed out of their costumes into their next attire. Rob and Tor donned more formal clothes.

The curtains opened up on a classy restaurant, other cast members already seated around the various tables scattered across the stage. One remained empty at the very forefront. As Penny stepped out, I exited opposite from her and we walked towards each other until our shoulders collided. Spinning on the spot, we turned to face each other.

"I am so sorry-"

"Oh! Excuse me! I should have-"

"No! No! It was all my fault-"

"No, I insist it was-" We talked over each other. It reminded me of our first meeting, minus the coffee. Finally meeting each other's gaze, we both fell silent before falling into a fit of laughter. She tucked her hair behind her ear coyly and I ran my fingers nervously through my hair.

"Sorry."

"Sorry." We chuckled again as we spoke simultaneously, and I allowed my eyes to drop and admire her dress. "Well, Miss, you look lovely tonight."

"Oh..thank you! I, um, Chip invited me to dinner." she looked away, unable to meet my eyes and I frowned, more than a little disappointed.

"Oh, well I hope you enjoy your evening." Tori looked back, her eyes darkening. She looked equally disheartened, but she quickly recovered, slowly turning away to leave.

"Oh, right..well..thank you. Sorry for-"

"Wait!" I caught her by the hand, halting her departure. She turned back, her tone hopeful.

"Yes?"

"Well, forgive me for being so forward, but would you like to meet up, after your..date?" A hopeful smile spread across my lips and she slowly nodded, her eyes lighting up. Grinning, I reached forward, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her other ear. "Great, meet me out front, say..eight?" With that we parted ways. I exited the stage and she proceeded towards the empty table. Robbie's character arrived late. He spent most of the date talking about himself and his riches. He obnoxiously ordered around the staff, peacocking as he ordered the finest, most expensive items from the menu. As the minutes dragged on, Penny looked more and more bored. Then Jade entered in a long black evening gown.

"Oh isn't this rich?! You left me for this cheap hussy, Chip?!"

"Ah, Veronica! What are you doing here?"

"Well I heard you were on a date so I had to come see for myself!" She gave a dry laugh, looking Tori up and down, her gaze full of malice. "If you were going to pick another woman over me, you could have at least chosen one with pedigree. Your standards must have really lowered, Chip." Chip and Veronica argued back and forth. Music began as the scene entered a mash-up of sorts. The song switched tones as it changed between characters.

Tori's was lamenting and tender like her character, as she sang directly to the audience about her thoughts on the situation and of herself, of her longing for something more. When it switched to Rob and Jade, the song became harsh and intense as they continued their dispute in lyrical form. They didn't even notice when Tori slipped away and left after the song ended. The curtains closed on the scene and Rob and Jade immediately broke character, running off stage to change again.

The scene switched again, the backdrop swapping out for a small park, as the crew exchanged tables for a streetlight and a lone bench. I threw on a leather jacket and straddled an old cruiser motorbike. Tori climbed up behind me, her arms circling around my waist. Her perfume filled my nose, drowning my thoughts with her sweet, floral scent. I let my eyes close, breathing in deeply for a moment, savoring the intoxicating aroma. But then, the subtle tapping of Tori's finger on my shoulder, shook me alert. I almost missed my cue.

"Hold on tight." I whispered, teasingly. She hit me playfully as the curtains opened. The roar of an engine sounded and I rolled the bike out on stage with a push of my feet. It didn't have a working engine. Parking by the streetlight, I climbed off, offering a hand to Tori.

"Wow! What is this place? It's so serene and beautiful!" Tori's gaze swept over our surroundings, her mouth open in awe. Smiling softly, I led her over towards the bench, and gave her hand a gentle tug, urging her to sit with me.

"Huntington Park. I come here all the time, when I need to think, or when I'm feeling down. It always lifts my spirits." Reaching up, I drew her attention to me, my fingers brushing her chin. Admittedly, the zombie mask felt weird under my touch, but I did my best to ignore it. I saw a flicker of embarrassment pass through Tori's gaze. I sympathized with her. "But it's nothing compared to you.." I uttered softly. Slowly, I leaned closer but she turned away, her back facing me.

"You don't even know me.."

"You're right..But I'd like to know you." Reaching up, I placed my hand on her shoulder, urging her to turn back around. When she didn't, I stood, grasping her hand and pulling her up. She started to walk away, but I spun her towards me, my hand coming to rest in the small of her back as her's fell to my shoulder. "Penny, please. Why do you run from me?"

"I'm not what everyone thinks of me." Tori dropped her gaze, her voice thick with shame. Instinctively, my palm pressed firmly against the curve of her spine, urging her closer. With little to no space between us, I felt heat creeping up the back of my neck. Silence lingered between us, until I felt Tori squeeze my shoulder, calling for my attention. Snapping from my momentary lapse of focus, I lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me.

"Nothing about you could change the way I feel."

With a heavy sigh, her voice trembling slightly, Tori pulled herself out of my arms. "I'm no one special." Turning away, she crossed over to the lamp post, wrapping an arm around it as she leaned against the cool metal for support. "I am..an orphan. I know nothing about family. Growing up in the foster system, I never had much of anything."

Concern creased my forehead. I crossed the short distance between us, laying my hand on her shoulder. Her skin was soft, smooth like silk under my fingers. Tori turned to face me, but this time, she didn't shy away. I could see the determination blazing in her eyes. "I decided a long time ago, not to become another statistic in the system. I worked hard, earned a scholarship and worked my way through college. I graduated with honors, and made something of myself." The edge to her voice softened. "Now, I live comfortably. I have everything I ever wanted: a nice roof over my head, a great job at a big publishing firm, enough money that I don't have to struggle. I have everything and yet.."

"Something's missing.." I finished the thought for her, my manner softening as a mutual understanding wordlessly passed between us. Her eyes reflected awe as she gave a slow nod. The collective synergy of our two characters was so strong, the entire theater was frozen with rapt attention. The atmosphere was thick and especially strong as an unseen energy hummed between Tori and I onstage.

"What about you?" Her question broke the silence, only just loud enough for the audience to hear. The growing tension in the room slowly ebbing away. "Who is Thomas..?" She let the question hang in the air, unfinished.

"Brooks." A half-smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. My hand finally dropped from her shoulder, fingertips caressing the length of her arm until they slipped in between her own. "I don't have much to call my own. My dad worked his life away just to put food on the table. After that, It was just my mom and me. I didn't have the means to pursue higher education." My eyes fell to our entwined hands, shoulders hunched with embarrassment. "I had to help support what was left of our family, so I worked odd jobs and now I'm a bellhop, serving society's elite for nickels and dimes."

An edge of bitter humor crept into my voice. I felt Tori squeeze my hand and lifted my gaze to meet her own reluctantly. "You did what you had to. That's very honorable of you." She paused for a moment, studying my face as I rolled my eyes. "I mean it. You're a good man. Tommy, " A smile lit my features as she used my character's nickname. "If you could do anything..like the one thing you dream about most in your life, what would it be?"

I looked wistfully out at the audience. "Promise not to laugh?" Glancing over my shoulder, I watched as she stepped closer and gave my arm a reassuring squeeze with her free hand. "I've always loved dancing..It's the only thing that doesn't make me feel like.."

"Something's missing?" We smiled as she echoed my words from before. Up above the stage, Andre and the band began a soft melody, a slow ballad as I lifted my hand to Tori's waist. My other, still joined with hers lifted and I slowly began to guide her across the stage, whirling to the music. And then, I parted my lips to sing.

"Do you believe in destiny?

Love at first sight;

Never before have I believed.

But then, you crashed into me."

As the lyrics left my lips, a memory swam to the forefront of my mind and I became acutely aware of the faint smell of freshly brewed coffee and something sweet.

_My thumb brushed over the keyboard when my body hit something solid. The coffee cup in my hand tipped and spilled all down the front of my shirt. My jaw clenched to suppress the groan that was clawing its way up my throat due to the burning of my flesh._

_"Ah!"_

_"Oh! Hey!" I exclaimed, looking down at the puddle that was now seeping into the carpet. I recognized the obstacle as a person when I noticed the stain spreading towards our feet._

_"Oh, my gosh!" I didn't recognize the concerned voice. We were both surveying the damage and I started to laugh as the burn began to fade away. Looking up, my eyes locked onto a pair of chocolate warmth. 'Woah..'_

_"Ahh…" I looked back down to my shirt, reminding myself to breathe. "It's cool-" I added, shaking my head. A small smile tugged at my lips._

_"No, Here.." She stepped closer, grabbing the end of her sleeve and using it to rub up and down my front. A sweet scent reached my nose, drowning my senses while my stomach went into free-fall. She smelled like summer blossoms and fresh apples. "I think it's coming out.." She added frantically._

_"You..might be making it worse, actually." My face split into a grin as I watched the stain spread. We both locked eyes again. My world melted away as I was struck breathless by her flawless visage. Her movements slowed and a part of me sensed she was experiencing a similar feeling; That feeling of time standing still. I caught myself holding my breath again, admiring her prominent cheekbones, and the way amber flecks danced in the warm brown of her gaze. It reminded me of the glow of embers. 'Who is this girl?'_

Tori's sweet harmony called my thoughts back to the present as I released her hip and twirled her before pulling her back to me. But then, she turned away, our arms outstretched as I kept a firm hold on her hand, to keep her from running from me.

"And you felt a spark ignite,

For the very first time,

Like we've been asleep all our lives?

But, can we trust these feelings inside?"

I tugged her back, spinning her into my chest and we continued to dance around the park. The music swelled with her voice and I felt my body vibrate in response.

"Could you be my destiny?

Is this real or make-believe?

Until now, I've felt incomplete.

Is it you I've been searching for?"

Again she turned away and successfully pulled from my grasp. I followed her over to the street light as she hid behind it, peeking out, watching me with apprehensive curiosity.

"These feelings, so hard to ignore,

Leave me wanting to feel more.

Yeah, just you and me,

Make me believe."

The music softened again as I reached for her hand, slowly drawing her back out of hiding. I led her over to the bench before coming to a stop. As she stood there, I dropped to one knee, bringing the palm of her hand to my heart. Once again, my voice resonated around the dark theater.

"Open your heart to me.

Ignore the doubts in your mind.

Your inner beauty is what I see.

Can't you feel our chemistry?"

And once again, my thoughts betrayed me as more memories surfaced. It was faint, but I could taste honeysuckle on the tip of my tongue.

_"Get Up, Alien." I pushed myself up as I felt Tori's hands reach for my arm. There was a shock of electricity that ran between us when her skin came into contact with mine. She helped me to my feet and when I uttered my next line, I had to wonder if I was just acting.._

_"Head...feels dizzy.." I closed my eyes, stumbling, as her grip fell away from me. Okay, so I was mostly acting..still though..I felt all floaty._

_"I know what'll make you feel better." Her air of confidence, followed by the playful glint in her eyes threw me off for a moment. My pulse started to race. "Jumping Jacks?" I asked, uncertainly._

_"Kiss me." My breath caught in my lungs as I stared at her, taken aback. I thought about Jade and the events of yesterday. Another flash of anger struck me, but only briefly. Then my gaze fell to Tori's lips. 'It would knock Jade down a peg or two..and it's only a stage kiss..'_

_"Let's do it.." I smirked, leaning towards her. My hand cupped her cheek as hers came to rest on my shoulder. Our lips touched and melted together. '__**Wow**__' I was struck by a singular thought, quickly becoming drunk on her scent, as I tasted her. She was sweet, like honeysuckle. There was that jolt of electricity again, now shooting through my entire being, exploding in a shower of sparks. It was enough to drive everyone and everything from my mind, at least for a moment. I don't know how long that moment was. When we separated, I glanced towards Jade from the corner of my eye and saw her livid face. I was definitely gonna hear about this later. Guilt started to gnaw at my subconscious._

_"Man, I love this school!" Hearing Tori exclaim, I grinned sheepishly and returned to my seat.._

Tori's voice, wavering with uncertainty pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. She drew her hand away, stepping backwards until the back of her knees hit the bench and she fell into the seat.

"Maybe I feel it too,

But, I'm afraid of the unknown.

This is all so strange and new.

Can I trust my heart with you?"

My heart was thrumming, the pulse loud in my ears. I needed to focus on the play and ignore my conflicted feelings and the vexing flashbacks the song kept unearthing. Pushing myself to my feet, I dropped in the seat next to her. As I sang, she would inch away from me, but I would only follow, sliding closer still.

"Ohh,

You could be my destiny.

My love is real, not fantasy.

Baby, you make me complete."

For likely the dozenth time that night, I picked up her hand, clasping it in both of mine as I held it to my chest, urgently gazing into her eyes.

"I've never felt this way before.

These feelings, so hard to ignore,

Leave me wanting you even more.

Whoa, just you and me,

We're meant to be."

Tori shook her head stubbornly, snatching her hand away again. She stood up, climbing higher, up onto the bench, and walked to the other end, her arms folding as she turned her back on me.

"This only happens in fairytales.

You only love my beauty.

This can't be real."

Stepping forward, I whirled around to face her, my head craning back as I joined my hands with both of hers.

"My feelings are more than skin deep.

It's in the warmth of your eyes,

And the comfort you bring."

Once again the music swelled with the familiar melody of the chorus. Tori shook her head defiantly once more, turning away and then, closing her eyes she seemed to relent. Her arms outstretched as she fell backward, only for my hands to catch her, supporting her thin frame over my head. I slowly lowered her, allowing her body to drape gracefully over my shoulder as I spun around, twirling away from the bench.

"Could you be my destiny?" She began, her voice rising in a crescendo.

"This love is real, not make-believe" I answered back, lowering her further until her feet touched the floor. My fingers wrapped around her hips, twisting her until she and I were facing each other again. We continued the rehearsed dance, spinning across the stage as our voices mixed in blissful harmony.

"Until now, I was incomplete.

I've never felt this way before.

These feelings, so hard to ignore,

Leave me wanting even more."

The music was slowing, nearing the end of the song as I let my voice drop off, allowing hers to shine.

"Ohh,

just you and me,

Make me believe in destiny.."

All the instruments faded out, except the keyboard, as her voice fell silent, only for mine to take it's place. Our whirling had stopped and now we stood still, my arms secure around her waist, her hands resting on my shoulders.

"Whoa, just you and me.."

And then, again, we harmonized together, finishing out the song. Even the keyboard dropped off, leaving only our vocals.

"Just you and me,

We're meant to be.."

The last note dragged out, slowly dropping off. The theater was dead quiet as Tori and I shared an intense gaze. Slowly, my lids grew heavy over my eyes. Ignoring the lingering thoughts that Tori resembled my great aunt Ruth, I dipped my head forward, my lips inches away from hers..

And then the curtains swung shut and we sprang apart.

The sound of applause filled the theater like thunder. We ran back behind stage so the crew could change sets back to the hotel lobby. Even as we parted ways for a costume change, the audience continued to whoop and holler, shrill whistles occasionally breaking the unanimous clapping. The whole experience left me feeling exhilarated, a broad grin splitting my features. The cheers didn't die down until Lane stepped out from behind the curtains, informing everyone of a short intermission.

After changing into my bellhop uniform again, I walked over to a small refreshment table that was set up backstage, grabbing a bottle of water.

"I had no idea you could sing like that." Startled, I whirled around, spotting Tori approaching in a breezy summer dress that stopped at the knee. I hid my embarrassment by taking a long swig from my drink.

"I'm not as good as you or the others though. But, at least I'm better than Robbie." I flashed a grin. She only rolled her eyes. Taking another sip, I gestured towards her. "Wasn't Trina and Cat supposed to be back by now to take that off?" Tori heaved a sigh, her shoulders falling in defeat.

"Yes, but at this point, I might have to finish out the performance like this."

I offered her an encouraging smile. "Well, for what it's worth, you're doing so well, I don't think people even care anymore." She offered up a warm smile. Though she didn't say anything more, grabbing a snack and walking away. I knew my words managed to quell her worries. I sensed the swell of confidence and resolve in her.

When intermission was over, they opened up with a confrontation between Tori and Jade, followed by a solo from Jade as she tried to intimidate Tori's character into backing off Chip. Then followed the scene between Penny, Chip, and Tommy. The two of us vying for her affection and Tori suffering with indecisiveness. Should she choose money and superficial love, or a poor bellhop and something true. The scene finished with another song between the two of us. Finally, after nearly two hours since the musical's start, we neared the end, where Penny would finally have to choose which future was best for her.

"Just say you'll marry me!"

"Excuse me, but most women don't wanna be screamed at when they're being proposed to!"

"I'm Rich, I'm handsome, I have nine boats! Stop acting like a stupid girl!" Robbie's obnoxious character yelled at an unphased Tori. She brought her finger up to her bottom lip, pointing.

"Wait, you got something right there.."

"What?"

"This!" Tori drew her fist back and aimed a punch right at Robbie's jaw. Her stage-fighting really improved since that incident with Jade's fake black eye. Everyone believed she actually hit him and Robbie fell convincingly.

As the audience erupted with laughter, the lights faded and a soft melody filled the air. A spotlight opened up on Tori as she began to sing.

"Suddenly..my choice is clear..I knew when only you and I were standing here.." The lights stretched as I stepped out of the shadow, my hand reaching to grasp hers. I smiled softly, looking at our joined hands before raising my gaze to lock onto Tori's. Ignoring the way my skin burned on contact with hers, I joined her in song, looking out at the audience.

"And beautiful..is all I see.." I locked my eyes on hers again, realizing how truthful my words were as the corner of my mouth tugged into a smile. We stepped closer to each other then, our hands lifting to cup each other's cheeks. Well, mine rested slightly below that, on her neck so as to avoid touching the zombie make-up. "It's only you..I know it's true. It has to be…"

We stood like that for a minute longer, just gazing into each others eyes. '_It doesn't matter what you look like.._' I thought, my fingertips grazing over the smooth skin of her neck. '_You're always radiant when you perform_'

The music picked up then and we parted ways. Running my hand through my hair, I walked around Tori, trying to shake off the weird feelings as we started our dance number. She offered her hand and I pulled her forward, spinning her around. There were scattered cheers from the audience.

"Well that money isn't worth a thing, if you didn't earn it.

You don't deserve it!"

"I deserve it-ow!" Rob came back out only to get struck in the forehead and leave again. I watched him go before turning my attention back to Tori as she sang. The rest of the ensemble stepped out from both sides of the stage, joining the performance.

"True love doesn't cost a thing,

and if you try to buy it, you can't return it."

"No, no, no Oh, oh!"

"Your friends are doing all the same things-" The girls all stood on one side of the stage while we stood on the other.

"Woooh!"

"And my friends say look at what you're wasting.

Well it doesn't matter if we change their minds..

Suddenly, I can see what I didn't before!"

The extra performers all exited the stage as the rest of us paired off. I placed my hands on Tori's hips, lifting her only to drop her back down on my opposite side.

"And I don't care what they say anymore..cause I'm fallin' fallin'!" grasping the back of her neck, I supported her weight as she dipped backwards in time with the music. No one cared what she looked like now. Tori shined like she always did everytime she sang and the audience was swept away with it. "Finally fallin' fallin!"

Over the music, I heard something rattle off stage and looked over, spotting Cat and Trina waving frantically. I caught Tori's attention then, pointing towards them. '_Finally!_' We shared a look, then glanced towards the audience. They seemed confused that we were no longer dancing. Tori caught Andre's attention then, gesturing for him to keep playing in the hopes of stalling things.

My nerves were starting to get the best of me again as I silently gestured for her to hurry and go. Tori danced her way off stage then, and I joined the rest of our cast in some freestyle. During a wicked keyboard solo, I flipped forward, landing on my knees and power-sliding across the stage. All of this was well worth it however, because when Tori finally made her reappearance, the audience completely lost it!

"I don't need all the finer things

Diamond rings are nothing so show me something

'Cause love is all I need, all I ever wanted

And now I've got it" I dropped to one knee, and a huge grin split my face as Tori strut her way around me. She pulled me up from the floor by my chin and we circled each other. She wasn't just radiant. Now that the gory mask was gone, Tori blazed like the sun. She was oozing with confidence and electric with that same exuberance she always had when performing.

"And my friends are wondering what you're thinking

And your friends probably think the same thing

But it doesn't matter if we change their minds"

"Suddenly I can see what I didn't before," Grabbing her around her thighs, I hoisted Tori up, my chin coming to rest on her abdomen as I gazed up at her. All the excitement and rush of her transformation only heightened the emotions of everyone there. I caught myself feeling everything I had on the first day we met. All my memories of those rare times when it was just Tori and me came rushing to the forefront of my brain, like a dam bursting forth. Suddenly, I was winded again, a fluttering in my stomach, and fire in my veins.

"And I don't care what they say anymore, 'Cause I'm falling, falling" Slowly lowering her, I smirked, my hands resting on her waist as I took a second to admire her. She was glowing. It was better than her first day at school, because she was performing. Under the spotlight, singing her heart out, she was more beautiful than ever before. "Finally falling, falling!"

As the song came to an abrupt end, we all struck our final positions on stage, frozen while the theater filled with thunderous applause. Tori and I locked eyes. The tip of her nose barely brushed mine, our faces were so close. She flashed me this brilliant smile and in that moment, everything became background. I looked down, my gaze lingering on her lips. '_Why do you keep doing this to me..?_' With agonizing slowness, my eyes smoldering, I inched closer until my lips just barely grazed over hers. It was a kiss, but only just, feather-light, but enough to give me a taste. Honeysuckle, just as I remembered.

And then, the curtains closed and everyone relaxed, the spell was broken. I pulled away from her quicky and we all stepped out in groups to bow accordingly. Afterwards, we gathered backstage, discussing the craziness of that last scene, when Sofia Michelle came back to talk to us.

"Well..that was an interesting performance..When I wrote that play I certainly never pictured Penny as a freakish zombie during most of it.." '_uh oh.._' I cringed briefly, before hiding it behind a smile.

"Oh man, I'm out of pills."

"Look, I can explain.." Tori started, but Sofia cut her off.

"You don't need to explain. I totally got it." '_Wait..huh?_'

"You did? You do?" We all looked around at each other with confused expressions. "She got it!" Grinning, I looked back, relieved. Apparently Ms. Michelle thought it was all part of the play, on purpose. "What'd you get?"

"The whole commentary on what's really beautiful. Having these two young men feel true love for a girl with a hideous face, really emphasized the whole point of the play, which is substance over beauty; the beauty within." '_Uh huh...sure…_'

"Riiight.."

"Right..okay, yeah Right. Yeah." Murmured agreements filled the room as we all pretended to go along with it.

"Well, we're really glad you liked it." Tori added.

"Yeah, and did you enjoy my performance, miss Michelle?" Robbie asked. I glanced over, seeing Ms. Michelle's face form a mask of forced pleasantry.

"Wow, I am late for my plane." '_ooh..Poor Robbie..He wasn't -that- bad._."

"We heard you were gonna be in L.A. all week."

"Right. Well, bye.." And then she was gone. I don't think I'd ever seen anyone rush away from Robbie so quickly, not even when he asked girls out.

"Alright, Congratulations everyone! Now, before we go, just a couple of-" But our director was interrupted as Disco music played over the speakers again. We all looked up to see Sinjin dressed in a full 60s inspired pantsuit.

"Don't fight it!" '_Seriously?.._' Exchanging looks with the rest of my classmates and friends, we all shrugged, '_Oh well. Whatever._' and broke into dance. We deserved an after party anyway, after the fiasco we managed to pull off. Sofia loved our play. She loved Tori's disgusting zombie face, and as for my strange feelings towards Tori..'_I'll figure it out later._'


	12. Robarazzi

Robarazzi

"Hey." I was met with the familiar slam of Jade's locker. It suffered so much abuse by her hand, I was surprised the scissors hadn't fallen off. Jade was nearly, always in a mood. She once told me she hated happiness. I knew it wasn't entirely true. I'd seen glimpses of joy from her over the course of our relationship, but it was almost exclusively in private. That thought made the ever-present feeling of guilt that much stronger.

Some days, it was less noticeable than others, going from a nagging in the back of my subconscious, to actively gnawing at my insides. Ever since we concluded 'uptown,downtown' I had put a lot of distance between another certain girl and me, throwing myself completely into my relationship with Jade.

"Hey, Babe." A fleeting smile tugged at her lips and I caught a glint in her eye as she turned to greet me. Before I could form a response, her cool fingers found purchase on either side of my neck, and I could taste the mango on her lips. The nagging in the back of my mind subsided into a barely noticeable murmur, as my pulse quickened. My hands instinctively grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer.

"Ahem!" Someone cleared their throat nearby, bringing me back to my senses. Reluctantly, Jade and I pulled apart and turned our attention to the interruption. It was Lane. He was wearing a disapproving frown. "You know the rules, keep PDA to a minimum during school hours." My only response was a quiet smirk, catching Jade's eye roll from my peripheral as Lane stalked off towards his office.

"Whatever..anyways.." Jade turned back to me and was about to reach for my neck again when I intercepted. Our joined hands lingered between us, my fingers slowly weaving through her own with comfortable familiarity.

"Ah, wait. Jade. I was hoping to talk actually." Instantly, her guard was up. I could tell by the way her shoulders tensed, her eyes narrowed, and the playful smile faded from her face

"About..?"

'_Great, that feeling is back._' I refused to name the feeling, either in my mind, or aloud. It only made me feel worse when acknowledged. I shook my thoughts away and buried it, instead offering a reassuring smile. "Relax, nothing bad. I've seen some of our friends posting new segments on the slap and..I thought we could start one together. You have the whole.._what I hate thing _and _Jade with tots_. I don't really want to do anything by myself, so..why not get my lovely girlfriend to join me on camera?"

Although her eyes remained narrowed with suspicion, I could barely discern a smile trying to curve her lips. "What kind of segment did you have in mind?" She spoke slowly, still unsure of herself. Even as I threw an arm around her shoulders and led her towards the student lounge, I could still sense her apprehension.

"Well, you know how people are always coming up to us for relationship advice? What better way to show what a wonderful couple we are, and how much we love each other, than to answer their questions, together?" Instantly, she relaxed, and as rare as it is, I saw real joy on her face, in public. Not mirth, not arrogance, nor malice, but actual joy. Her light eyes lit up like glittering gems and her expression softened. I felt a faint fluttering in my chest as we collapsed onto a bright orange couch. At least the lounge was empty. "So, I take it that's a yes?"

"Hm..sure, why not?" She lifted her shoulders, trying to seem aloof. It was so Jade. Even when it was just the two of us, it was hard for her to let her walls down. She was either guarded and defensive, or she acted completely nonchalant. Very rarely did I get to truly see her. But, even though dating Jade is far from easy, it's definitely never boring. It was one of the things that drew me to her in the first place. She challenged me, and I liked that.

"Okay, well we have a few minutes before we're set to meet the others for lunch. We can come up with a list of questions people have asked us and record a video after school?" I was met with a noncommittal shrug, before she tucked herself against my side.

"Actually..why don't we just tell people to message us on the slap and we'll go from there?" Slowly, Jade dragged her black, manicured fingers up and down my arm, goosebumps blooming along the path. "Besides..I thought we could pass the time another way." Her mischievous gaze cut up to meet mine, eliciting a crooked smile.

"And risk getting caught by Lane again?"

"Don't worry about him. We'll be careful." And Jade quickly cut off my rebuttal, capturing my lips with her's. We spent the next few minutes sharing fervent kisses, occasionally throwing glances towards the door in the brief moments we had to part for air. As for our hands, they were busy weaving in each other's hair. By the time we finally left to meet the others at the cafe, both of us were sporting swollen lips and mussed hair. Not that it made a difference; the others stopped questioning us post-make-out long ago.

Andre, Tori, Jade, and I were all eating in silence when Cat came bounding up with a large machine in her hands and placed it in the center of our table. I took a second to stare at the device before looking up to meet Cat's excited, bubbly expression. I'm certain the others' mimicked my own bemused countenance.

Seconds dragged by with Cat waiting excitedly for one of us to speak and the rest of us waiting silently for an explanation. When no one said anything, we simultaneously continued devouring our lunch. '_Eh..it's another Cat thing._' She was always sharing something random or weird with us.

"Don't you guys want to know what that is?" I didn't look up, but I could hear the exasperation in Cat's voice. She was disappointed by our lack of interest. '_Not really.._'

"Is it a transporter from the future that can beam you to another table, 'Cause if it is, what button do I push?" Jade was the first to respond, in her usual biting tone. I glanced up, my mouth too full of tostada to reprimand her, and instead focused on Cat. Her face crumpled, eyebrows stitching together as her usually bright, sparkly eyes dimmed somewhat.

"That's so hurtful.." She dropped into a seat next to Tori, staring indignantly at Jade.

"You know, you don't always have to be mean to everyone." Tori rose to Cat's defense in typical fashion. I tried not to admire that about her and instead focused on my lunch. '_She has a point..but then Jade wouldn't be Jade._'

"See? Tori's interested in my device!" Cat added fervently.

"I'm really not.." I bit back a laugh at Tori's quick rebuttal, taking a sip of my coffee to cover up almost choking on my food. Cat's face fell again, but then Andre swooped in to lift her spirits. It was not surprising at all. Cat was the bubbly one of our group, and other than Tori, Andre was likely the most carefree and optimistic.

"Aw, c'mon Little Red, tell us about your doo-hickey." He threw his arm around her shoulders, swaying her back and forth to try and cheer her up. It worked wondrously. Defeatedly, we forgot about filling our stomachs for the moment, giving Cat our undivided attention. '_This is going to be a disaster, I just know it.._'

"Okay, it's called: The Snowbee! Watch." Standing up, Cat reached for a button on the front of the machine before dropping back into her seat. Almost immediately white fluff erupted from its center, blanketing us in an artificial blizzard. Cat threw her arms up, squealing. '_Ugh! I knew it!_' "It makes pretend snow!" Jade reached forward to switch it off.

"I see that." Answered Andre, testily, as he started wiping the cottony substance off his clothes, mimicking the actions of the rest of us.

"It's all over my tostada." Dejectedly, I lifted my lunch, trying to blow the tiny flakes off. '_Aww..I wasn't done eating it! What's the use? Ruined.._'

"And my pizza." Tori whined.

"Well, do NOT eat it!" Cat interjected, quickly. Her tone was unusually serious. It was enough to give us all pause. Jade hesitantly questioned her reasoning. "Cause it says the fake snow is toxic and can cause abdominal bleeding." Cat added, reading directly from the instruction manual. Immediately, we all pushed our meals away. '_Fan-freakin-tastic!_'

"So what made you buy a machine that poisons people's lunches?" Tori asked. Sighing, I looked up just as Cat pulled out a magazine.

"This catalog."

"Sky store?" I didn't mean it to, but the words flew out of my mouth in such an incredulous tone. Luckily, it didn't seem to phase her any as Cat continued to rave about it.

"Yeah! I went to visit my uncle and uncle this weekend In San Francisco, And they had these on the plane! It's like filled with all kinds of cool stuff you can buy." '_Ahh..it's one of those magazines, filled with useless junk for rich people to waste their money on._' Cat flipped the catalog open to a random page and gasped excitedly. "Oh, like this: A tree face! You put it on your tree to give it a face!"

"What if you don't have A tree?"

"It also works on bushes!" She answered Tori with a bubbly giggle. We all shared a dispirited look. It was right at that moment, that Robbie stormed up. For once, I was actually thankful for the interruption. Anything had to be better than indulging Cat's latest weird obsession.

"Unbelievable! You guys have no idea how upset I am about…" He paused, mid-rant, to look around at the artificial blanket of frost that currently covered everything in a ten-feet radius. "It snowed? In Los Angeles?!"

"I told you global warming was bogus."

"Stop watching Fox News!"

"No, it's fair and balanced."

"Dude…" Tori Interrupted another one of Robbie's arguments with his puppet, Rex. A small part of me still thought it was all an act, like Robbie was playing one giant joke on everyone. Surely, he couldn't think Rex was actually a real person.

"It's not real snow." I explained, trying to wipe some of it off my cup. Thankfully there was a lid on it.

"But you can eat it!" Jade offered a fork full of it to Robbie. My muscles tensed, my demeanor stoney. I knew she wasn't serious, but even I thought she'd gone a bit far, that time. '_Please tell me she didn't just say that._'

"I don't wanna eat anything." Robbie threw his bag down, squeezing in between Tori and me. He sounded so defeated.

"What are you all upset about?"

"This time.." I added, quickly, to clarify. When was Robbie NOT upset?

"Well, the seniors, The ones who run the slap…"

"Dot com?"

"No, dot gov. Yes, dotcom!" Robbie snapped back. Although I felt it was uncalled for, I had to admit, it was a silly question, even for Cat.

"They wanna cancel my blog!"

"Why? Oh wait, I don't care." I turned my head to give Jade a look. '_Really? She needs to learn when to give it a rest.._' However, her concern at her initial question sounded so genuine, it threw me off for a second.

"Why?" Even though it didn't sound like Tori was all that interested, at least she made an effort to console our friend. After a brief look of admiration, I decided to focus my gaze across the table, over Andre's shoulder. I'd spent a lot of time doing that lately, avoiding even looking at Tori. It was better that way.

"'Cause it's boring."

"It is not bor-" Robbie stopped himself from diving into another argument with his puppet. "Do you guys think that my blog on the slap is boring?" A few seconds of silence passed over the table as we all looked at each other, growing increasingly more uncomfortable. '_Well, that's my cue to leave._'

"Hey look!..it's that guy over there!" A tense smile forced its way onto my features as I quickly changed the subject and gathered up my things. The others followed suit, reiterating my lame excuse as we all rushed away from the table. '_Sorry, Rob.._'

"It is that guy…"

"Wait up, guy!"

"There's no guy." I heard Jade explain, rolling my eyes as she quickly caught up to me. She snaked her arm around my waist. Habitually, I threw my arm around her shoulders and steered her away from our friends.

"Jade, you know I love you, right?" I pulled to a stop at the vending machines inside. Reaching for my wallet, I bought myself a bag of chips and some lemonade.

"Yeah..Hey, get me a soda." My eyebrows lifted towards her and she looked back defiantly before conceding, her voice softening. "Please..?" Jade offered up a sweet smile, batting her eyelashes at me. Smirking, I turned back to the machine to fulfill the request.

"Well..here." I paused, handing her the soda before dragging her into the Janitor's closet nearby. Flicking on the light, I leaned back against the door, blocking the only exit. "Look, you're getting better, but I need you to try and be nicer to our friends."

"They're not my friends." She answered curtly, taking a few sips. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Well, my friends then. You don't have to say anything nice to them, but it'd help a lot if you didn't make mean digs at their expense all the time." The room filled with an uncomfortable quiet as we stared at each other. My own eyes widened, pleadingly. I watched as she pursed her lips, collecting her thoughts. I could imagine the debate going on in her mind.

"Fine..I'll try. No promises though. It's a hard habit to break." She threw her hand up in defeat. "But, I'm only doing it for you." My body sagged against the door as my lungs deflated with relief. I was fully expecting another argument to break out between us. But, she pleasantly surprised me, a grin stretching my mouth. A small smile spread over her lips in return. "Alright, alright. Come on, we're gonna be late for class." Still grinning, I moved out of the way and opened the door for her.

After school, we met in the student lounge. I was already setting up my camera when Jade walked in. "Hey, are you ready to record our segment?" I dropped onto the couch, waiting for her to join me.

"Yeah, let's do it." Jade situated herself, not quite on my lap, but pressed into my side. I threw my arm around her back, my hand coming to rest on her hip as she draped a leg over mine. Seeing no reason to wait, I reached for the remote to start the recording. "Wait, don't turn it on yet, I've got something stuck in my teeth."

'_Oh..oops._' I tensed up, my mouth wide as I realized my mistake, sitting back. "Ah..I..I already turned it on." I forced myself to look at her and could already see her anger starting to simmer just beneath the surface.

"You turned it on, while I was getting something out of my teeth?" A barely discernible sigh escaped me as I leaned back, closing my eyes. '_Great..here we go again._'

"I didn't know that you were getting something ou-" I started to explain, but she cut me off.

"Just- Alright! Let's just go. Just do it." I licked my lips, trying to restrain my own frustration before gesturing towards the remote.

"You want to start over? Cause, I can just press the button-" '_Cause it's not like I can't just fix it in editing.._' But Jade interjected again, brushing it off, cooly.

"No. Let's just go." I stared forward, thinking about just how stubborn she was being and how this whole segment was off to a horrible start. We were supposed to be giving relationship advice and we couldn't even stop bickering long enough to start the video properly.

"I'm beck.." I finally introduced myself after a long pause, trying to collect my composure. After all, I could just edit it all out.

"Jade, I'm his girlfriend." I could hear the forced pleasantry in her voice but tried my best to ignore it. At least she was trying.

"We've been dating for almost two years."

"Longer."

"Huh?" I looked over, confused.

"It's been longer than two years, but it doesn't matter. Just, keep going" I thought about that for a second. '_Surely it hasn't been.._'

"I thought we officially started dating on-"

"It doesn't matter!" Another tense moment of silence passed between us. I drummed my fingers against the surface of her hip, really trying to contain myself.

"Soo! Um..a lot of people we know..come to us for relationship advice."

"So we told people if you have a relationship-y type of question to just send it to my page on the slap."

"Or mine."

"And maybe we'll answer it."

"Yeah." I offered up a smile, my earlier frustration already fading into memory. Things seemed to be going a lot smoother.

"Because we care sooo much about your problems." Then again, maybe not. I reached for the remote, pausing the recording and twisted in my seat to look at her.

"Okay, if you can't cut the attitude, and have fun with this, then maybe we shouldn't do it at all." I didn't usually show my anger so openly, but Jade had been really trying my patience and I was attempting to do something with her, together, as a couple. She met my hard expression, with wild eyes. I waited for the explosion. But, a few seconds later, she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, collecting herself.

"No, it's..let's just do this. I'll be good. I'm sorry." My brow raised, an unspoken question. '_Are you sure?_' She gave a nod, offering up a notably forced smile. Sighing, I turned back and pressed the record button again before reaching for my laptop, bringing up my slap page.

"Okay..first question iiiis…"

"Don't read that one." I paused, glancing toward her.

"Why not?"

"Read the next one." Biting the inside of my cheek, I gestured towards the computer.

"Why can't we just start on the first questi-"

"Why pick a fight with me?!" I looked away, towards the corner of the room, scoffing softly. '_Me?! Pick a fight with you?! You've got to be kidding me!'_

"Okay, you need to chill!" I didn't even stop recording this time. I was so done with her attitude. One more outburst, and I was about ready to walk out of the room and leave her there.

"Or else, what?" She pursed her lips, shooting a challenging glare in my direction. I met her gaze with a hard stare, refusing to concede.

"Or else, I'm not gonna talk to you for the rest of the day." It didn't sound like much of a threat, but I knew her. Between the two of us, as much as it pained me to even think it, Jade needed me more than I needed her. That gnawing pain began twisting my insides ever so subtly again and I almost regretted even threatening her like that. Almost. I watched her, raising my brows as she tensed up and avoided my eyes. "You gonna chill?"

"Yes.." She replied meekly. I turned my gaze back to the camera, wondering if we'd even have anything to post after I edit out all the irrelevant pieces. I forced a smile, my heart not really in it anymore.

"Okay..first question is-"

"Can I read it?" I rolled my eyes, looking away before nodding.

"Sure, go."

"Hey Beck and Jade, my girlfriend smells weird. How do I tell her without making her get all ups-" I stared forward, dejectedly. When she trailed off, I glanced over, raising a brow. "The battery's dying."

Frowning, my eyebrows knit together, the sudden change in topic throwing me off. "What?"

"Look, your battery's down to one percent." I leaned forward slightly, noticing the flashing symbol for the first time.

"Ooh, yeah." '_I guess I should have charged it first.._'

"And now it's down to zero percent." I slipped my arm free, pushing myself forward to squint at the small screen. Even now, I don't know why I didn't just plug it in. Though, truth be told, I wasn't in the mood to record anymore.

"Oh.."

"Okaaay!" Jade clapped her hands together, shrugging. "Then I guess we're not gonna be giving relationship advice." And then the screen went black as the camera shut off. I sat back, throwing my head back against the sofa. Neither one of us spoke for several seconds. I closed my eyes, sighing softly. "Beck.."

"Hm..?"

Jade drew in a deep breath, releasing it heavily. I dared to open my eyes, searching her face. She refused to meet my gaze, her own darkening as her face fell. "I'm sorry. I really am trying. I don't know why I get so confrontational.." Reaching out, my hand pressed against her back, rubbing small circles into it soothingly.

"I know. I love you Jade..just try to remember that." A halfhearted smile tugged at my lips. Leaning over, I kissed her temple, gently. "I've gotta get to work. I'll text you when I get off." later that night, I decided to just post the video, unedited. Jade and I were far from perfect. People needed to see that all relationships, even the best, had their ups and downs.

The next day had gone as I expected. Jade confronted me before school about my actions. I explained my side of things and she quickly let the subject drop. It was still early, so we decided to stop for coffee at the drink cart. We were sitting at our usual table when noticed none of our friends were around.

"Where is everybody?" I asked between sips. Jade shrugged, shredding a muffin into smaller pieces. "I know Rob's working on the slap, and Tori and Andre are writing a new song together, but what about Cat?"

"I don't know..who cares?" Jade stabbed a particularly large chunk with her scissors, shoving it into her mouth. I raised a brow. '_She's always so violent with her food..'_

"Aren't you worried about her sky store obsession?"

"No, not really. It's Cat. She'll find something new to interest her by next week. Or, at least until the next cute boy walks by." She had me there. Smirking, I gave a slow nod. When Cat wasn't obsessing over something material, she was chasing after boys left and right. She had a whole slap segment devoted to them.

Classes proceeded as per usual. Nothing of real importance happened. I got a few comments from fellow students about Jade's and my video, but even that died off by third period.

We had theater next, but Sikowitz never showed. He did this occasionally and would later post something on the slap suggesting he completely forgot about life for several days. Instead we had a sub, who decided to just throw on a movie. Jade and I sat towards the back of the room, our backs resting against the wall.

About halfway through the period, Jade nudged me, showing me her phone. The slap was pulled up to a video. I didn't bother reading the caption before clicking play. Of course, the sound was muted, but I could clearly see Tori squeezing her chin in front of a mirror. Frowning, I looked over. Surprisingly, Jade didn't seem her usually gleeful self. In the past, she would have been thrilled with Tori's suffering. But now, she almost looked offended on Tori's behalf. Jade quickly smoothed her features into casual indifference, however. I just rolled my eyes, and handed back the phone.

When class ended, I left quickly. I didn't want to listen to anything Jade might have to say about the video. As I stalked across the school, I pulled out my phone, opening up to the slap to study the post myself and was surprised to see it was Robbie's. '_Why would he do that?_' It seemed more like a Rex thing to do. Then again..Robbie is Rex.

"Beck, wait, wait, wait...Wait up!" So involved was I in my phone, that I didn't notice Cat's presence at first. Hearing my name, I glanced left and right but saw no one. Instead, something grasped me firmly by the ankles. I felt my heart leap into my throat as my stomach clenched. Sure, girls come up and touch my hair or put their arms around me all the time, but it still spooks me when someone just latches on out of the blue.

Hopping forward, I threw my arms out to maintain my balance as I nearly tripped headlong onto the floor. My eyes darted towards the floor with alarm, catching sight of red velvet hair. "Ohh! okay! all right, Ya caught me." My heart still pounding against my rib cage, I managed a brittle chuckle, waiting for my nerves to settle. "What?"

"I wanna show you what I got!" Cat was still on the floor, her hands clasped firmly around my ankle as she peered up at me. I couldn't stop myself from grinning. It was oddly adorable.

"Sure." My eyebrow quirked reflexively as she finally let go, jumping to her feet. Waiting patiently, I watched as she flipped her hair back off her shoulders to present a simple pendant. It was a circle design with a silver star in the center, on a silver chain.

"Okay, now, walk towards me. " My amusement was starting to fade now and I suddenly felt on edge. I took one step closer. '_I don't know how I feel about this.._' A nagging sensation settled in my gut, similar to what I've been feeling for weeks, but for an entirely different reason. My brows furrowed, my features wary.

"Closer.." My frayed nerves were starting to unravel further, my pulse quickening with an uneasy feeling of suspicion. '_I don't like where this is going.._' I gave cat a hard stare, trying to communicate my worries wordlessly. '_Cat..what are you going to do?_' I took another step. "Closer.." '_I hope Jade's not around..I don't even get this close to my family._' I looked around, just to be sure before taking another apprehensive step. "Closer!"

"Step away!" 'Holy shit!' I threw my hands up, as my body gave an involuntary jump. The necklace was flashing and emitting a high pitched siren as it warded me off. I immediately retreated. My heart was hammering in my chest again. It felt like I died for a whole second as it skipped a beat and not in a good way. "You are too close To this person! "

Cat was jumping up and down, clapping. She was clearly pleased with her newest toy. I on the other hand, was not. Everyone in the halls was staring at me, either laughing, or looking at me like some kind of criminal. I kept my hands up, which only made me look more guilty. "The police are on their way!" '_Police?!'_

"I didn't do anything." I turned slowly on the spot, flashing an uneasy grin at the captive audience, as I tried to temper the situation. "Uh..Would ya turn that off?" I turned back towards Cat, finally dropping my hands as I gave her a sharp look.

"Move back!" She didn't seem to register my lack of amusement as she giggled. But, nevertheless, Cat pressed the center of medallion, effectively turning off the alarm. Murmurs still swept the hall around us, but the crowd was quickly losing interest. We were all used to Cat's antics by now and she was hardly upset so there was nothing to worry about.

"It's the world's best alarm necklace!" I tried to fight a smile, seeing her enthusiasm, but failed miserably. So instead, I turned away, busying myself with my locker. "Oh, and look! The world's brightest key chain!"

I made the mistake of looking up to indulge her as she flashed the light in my eyes. '_Pain! Searing pain!_' It shot through my retinas like lightning, setting my brain on fire with a pounding headache. My hand shot up to shield my eyes as I looked away. "Yeh-Ahh! Ow! okay! All right, that's bright. You can turn that off now."

"Too bright?" For the first time in this encounter, she seemed to actually notice my discomfort, tucking the gizmo away.

"No, I loved that." I added, barely containing my sarcasm as I rubbed my eye. Still blinking away the spots in my vision, I leveled Cat with a concerned look. "You think maybe you're buying..you know, too many things from sky store?" Jade told me not to worry about it, but I couldn't stop myself from breaching the topic, fidgeting uncomfortably as I first shoved my hand into a pocket like I usually do but then decided to cross my arms defensively over my chest. There was a chance Cat would take offense and scream at me, and honestly, I'd had enough drama that day.

She scoffed, shaking her head. "No." '_uhuh..sure._' She failed to dismiss my worries, brushing my question aside. Still uncertain, I let my arms fall, sliding my hands into my back pockets as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "Oh, hey...uh, Can I borrow some money for lunch?" She halted her retreat, turning back.

'_Maybe I shouldn't.._' I quickly debated it, lifting my shoulders. "Uhh.." '_Whatever, it won't hurt. Don't want her to starve._' "Yeah, how much?" And unlike another person I was always buying for, at least Cat had asked politely. Retrieving my wallet, I started digging through it for some cash.

"49.95 plus shipping?" '_Excuse me, what?_' My eyes widened as I snapped my gaze up, staring at the far wall for a second to process things. A couple seconds later, I leveled her with a hard gaze, raising both eyebrows. Speechless, I shook my head and snapped my wallet closed before stalking away.

"Welcome to...Robarazzi! Starring Robbie Shapiro." It was the next day. The rest of the gang and I were all sitting in the Black Box theater after school. We were about to start rehearsals for our next production and were waiting for Sikowitz and other students to arrive. Jade suggested we check out Robbie's latest vlog on the slap. "Robarazzi! Your home for up-to-the-minute, tasty gossip about the students at hollywood arts. Robarazzi! Starring Robbie Shapiro!"Robbie wasn't here. He'd been squirreling away in The Slap's HQ ever since that day with the Snowbee. Watching the intro, I couldn't help but think of how lame it looked. '_How many times are you gonna say the title in the opening credits?_'

"Oh, my God.." I glanced over, spotting the look of disbelief and distaste on Tori's features before eyeing the monitor again, frowning.

"Coming up on Robarazzi, Tori Vega's pimple: Shrinking or growing?" Tori's hand flew up to cover the blemish and despite myself, I had to poke fun at her. I slowly extended my hand towards her face, my index finger stretching towards her chin. I fought a smile, furrowing my brows with a look of concern. Tori caught me, however, slapping my hand away.

"Don't touch it!" She scolded, sharply. I flinched, pulling my hand back, my skin stinging from the contact. Defensively, I threw my hands up in surrender before looking back towards the laptop. Tori seemed legitimately distressed about it all, so I buried my own amusement, no matter how fun it was to tease her.

"Also, does Andre Harris Have a ketchup problem?" A photo of Andre flashed on screen. It was obviously photo-shopped. They added an over-sized bottle of ketchup to his hand. We all looked over our shoulders to Dre, who stood nearby. He seemed just as bewildered as we were. "Does Sinjin van Cleef steal famous teeth? Probably." That one we couldn't really dispute.

"Is it splitsville For Beck and Jade?" '_wait..what? Oh no._' My eyebrows rose. The muscles in my shoulders and back tensed up. Jade was standing behind me and she was worryingly quiet. I could just imagine her reaction, and likely the trouble it was going to cause, not only me, but everyone around her. '_Ohh Robbie's a dead man.._' I smirked, shaking my head. "All this, and tons more on...Robarazzi! Starring Robbie Shapiro."

"He's a dead man!" Surprisingly, Tori spoke my own thoughts aloud as she stopped the video and stood up. Honestly, I wasn't all that worried about it. The worst thing he mentioned about me was my relationship with Jade. Yeah, that was going to cause some issues, but it wasn't true. I could feel the atmosphere thicken as the others around me started voicing their displeasure.

"Beck and I aren't Splitting up!"

I took a sip of water, before screwing the top back on. I didn't even think about it, the word just slipping out of my mouth like reflex. "Well…"

"Dude…" Her tone held a warning and I quickly retracted. '_I'm so gonna hear about that later..but it's sooo easy to mess with her!_'

"Kidding!"

"I use an appropriate amount Of ketchup!" My eyebrows rose. I never heard Andre get so upset before. By now, Tori was pacing up and down the aisle, fuming. She turned towards us, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Let's go fix this right now." I stood up with the rest, gathering my things. We were on our way out the door, when Tori stopped. "Cat, are you coming?" Strangely, Cat was the only one not mentioned in Robbie's video. Not that it mattered. She had her face buried in a sky store catalog for the last thirty minutes at least.

"Oh my God! Underwear that floats." My brows furrowed as I stopped to look at her. '_Oh, you sad, poor thing..Why would anyone need floating underwear?_'

I followed Tori and everyone else out of the auditorium. It was a short march over towards the classroom that acted as the Slap HQ. By the time we reached the door, Tori had stormed on ahead and burst through the door, visibly fuming. "HEY!"

"I don't use any more ketchup than the next guy!" I sighed inwardly, my eyes rolling up towards the ceiling as I followed everyone in. I was already regretting my decision to follow everyone else here. It seemed out of the four of us, I was the only one keeping my composure.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Come on you guys, we're in the middle of taping my show."

"Beck and I Are not splitsville!" My steps took on a more urgent pace as I fought to catch up with Jade. She looked like she wanted to pummel Robbie into fine powder.

"Well…" Again, I couldn't stop myself and instantly regretted it as Jade turned to snap at me. Even Tori was giving me the stink eye.

"Is there something you wanna talk about?!" Laughing, I reached over to put a comforting hand on Jade's shoulder. She looked like a deer in headlights, her eyes wide and wild.

"I'm kidding.."

"Uh, are you guys getting this? 'Cause this is really Great stuff." Robbie was speaking to the camera crew, like we weren't there to chew him out. It was even starting to rub me the wrong way.

"Robbie!" Tori's sharp tone demanded his attention. "You're not gonna have any friends left If you keep exploiting us for your dumb blog." To my surprise, Robbie didn't even seem phased as he turned to write on the board behind him.

"Okay, we have Tori freaking out!" He actually sounded enthused about it!

"Is he serious?" Tori looked like she was about to explode and I don't blame her. That was the last straw for me. I looked over, exchanging a glance with Jade. Even she was livid about his blatant disregard for us, his so-called friends since middle school, especially Tori. Granted, he hadn't known her long, but when had Tori ever done anything to deserve such horrible disrespect?

"Really?" I stepped around the podium, approaching Robbie slowly. I could feel my muscles vibrating, just itching to hit the guy. Maybe even hit him between the eyes. '_I'll make him look like Harry Freakin' Potter._'

"This is ridiculous." And then we were all screaming over each other. I have no idea what anyone else was saying and Robbie looked at us like he didn't have a clue what was going on or why we were upset.

"How dare you talk to her that way?! Tori has been nothing but nice to you since she came to this school! Hell, we've all been your friend Robbie for as long as I've known you! I expected better! We all did! And don't even get me started on that rumor about Jade and me! You have no business poking into my relationship! You get one taste of popularity and it t-" I felt someone grab my shoulder. Jade and I whirled around, confronting the unfortunate interns trying to halt our tirade. "Back off this has nothing to do with you!"

"Stop!" Tori's voice rang loud and clear over the rest of us. Silence fell and we all turned to look at her. I was still fuming, my body tense. The muscles in my arm tightened and I noticed for the first time that my fists were clenched so hard my knuckles were white, nails biting into my palms. "This is your last chance." she added, her voice steady. "Are you gonna stop This Robarazzi thing or not?"

In the end, Robbie brushed us off, ignoring all the anger and betrayal he had ensued. Later that evening, he released another video, edited to make us all look like the psychotic monsters he deemed us to be. It was the final straw. Things only got worse from there. The next day, whispers followed us through the halls. Everyone would stop and stare.

"Ugh I am so mad at Robbie." Tori broke through my silent contemplation. It was lunch time, but none of us had much of an appetite. Andre hadn't even touched his burger. Jade wasn't mutilating her food like she usually does, and I was pushing my food around aimlessly with a fork. "I feel like everyone's staring At my pimple."

"Everyone is." There was no bite to Jade's remark. On any other day, she might have relished in the opportunity to tease Tori. But, maybe Jade was actually trying for once. Or, perhaps Tori's anguish touched a little too close to home, making it easy for Jade to empathize and therefore, go easy on her. Either way, it was the only thing on an otherwise dismal day to cheer me up, like a glimmer of sun through a blanket of dark clouds.

"How do you think I feel? Five people today have asked me About my ketchup addiction. One kid called me Mister ketchup." '_Well that's not even creative._'

"It's all Tori's fault." Jade had a point there, but I was in no mood to enter the conversation. My own thoughts were wrapped up in the situation. Out of the four of us, I probably received the least amount of backlash. Unfortunately, more girls than ever were coming up to me or blowing up my phone at all hours of the day and night. I decided ignoring them was the best course of action. Denying the rumors of mine and Jade's split would only make things worse. It did get a little exhausting though. If they weren't outright badmouthing Jade, they were doting on me with overly sympathetic words. I couldn't decide which was worse, the insults or the pity.

"Really?"

"They were about to Kick Robbie off the slap. You were the one who told him To start reporting On our personal lives. Then you gave him ideas By letting him Shoot video of you Playing with your pimple. Gimme the salt." Normally I would have told Jade to give her a break, but she had a point, besides the whole letting-him-shoot-her thing. That led to another thought. '_Why is Robbie only sharing embarrassing things about us? We're supposed to be his friends._' I answered my own question. Obviously it was easier to have his friends hate him, rather than the entire school. If Robbie had tried to embarrass anyone remotely popular, his show and likely his well being, would have been in danger.

"Hey Andre, we thought You might need this. Save some for dinner. " I looked up just in time to see some douchebags drop an overly large bottle of ketchup on the table. They walked off, laughing. Shaking my head, I threw my fork down and crossed my arms on the table. '_Losers.._'

"I do not have a ketchup problem!" Andre yelled after them, getting to his feet indignantly as he held up the giant bottle. At that moment, a bunch of little kids ran up with cameras, lights flashing blinding us as they snapped pics.

"Andre, Andre, right here!"

"Hey! What are you guys doing?!" I yelled after them as the kids took a few more pictures and then turned tail to weave in between the occupied tables.

"Get out of here!"

"Who were they?"

I glanced up towards Andre who was still standing there with the bottle of ketchup, a bemused expression on his face. "Robarazzis.." I answered, rolling my eyes. '_Annoying twerps_.'

"Robbie's little Ninth-Grade photographers."

"Aw, man! Now, Robbie's got pics of me With this Industrial-size ketchup. We gotta do something."

"Clearly."

"I think we just have to show Robbie that we're not gonna be his friends until he stops embarrassing everybody." Tori interjected. I glanced over, briefly. '_Easier said than done._' She'd already given him an ultimatum, which he clearly ignored. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be his friend again, even if he did see the error of his ways.

At that point, Cat giggled. She hadn't said a word the entire lunch period. When she joined us earlier, she'd brought over another contraption. None of us asked her about it. But looking over now, she was looking at it gleefully. "That's from sky store?" I asked with a small sigh. I was trying not to judge her. '_How much money could she possibly have left after all the other useless junk she's ordered?_'

"Uh-huh."

"What is it?" Andre asked. Usually I wouldn't want to encourage her, but a change in topic was welcome. I was tired of talking about Robbie.

"It's the world's most powerful portable juicer for juicing on the go!" Cat announced excitedly. '_I bet she was waiting all lunch period to say that.._'

"You're so screwed up." '_My sentiments exactly, Jade.._' I finally picked up my pizza. As dejected as I may have felt, there was no reason to let my money go to waste, and my stomach was grumbling in protest.

"Nooo, it's really cool. Look it... " I was just about to take a bite when someone snatched the slice from my hand.

"Hey-!"

"See?" Frowning, my brows lowering and stitching together, I watched as Cat started feeding my pizza into her machine. '_Wha-? Why?! No! What the hell is she doing?!_' I watched helplessly as she pushed down and my pizza came out the other end as pure liquid. My brows lifted in a brief moment of awe. I was reluctantly impressed. But, as she handed me the glass, I looked it over. It smelled and looked disgusting.

"You juiced my pizza.." I shot her a look, my lips pressing into a thin line.

"Why chew what you can drink?" Cat asked, her tone suggesting like that was some obvious improvement. The idea just made my stomach queasy as my lips curled in disgust. At that moment, Robbie bounded up, forcing himself into the seat between Jade and Andre.

"What's up, m'peeps? How's everyone doin' this fine day?" The table fell silent. We all turned to stare at him. He didn't even seem to notice our stony expressions. Glancing over, Robbie spotted the industrial sized condiment bottle. "Do you really need that much ketchup?" He chortled, looking over at the rest of us for shared amusement. He didn't find any. Instead, Andre grabbed Robbie's backpack and threw it over in a far corner.

"Wait, Jade, what are you doing?" At the same time, Jade grabbed his lunch and not only tossed it on the ground. She also opened it first, so the food would be inedible. "Jade!" '_That's my girl._' "What's wrong with you guys?"

"Stop embarrassing us on your dumb Robarazzi blog!"

"I can't take this anymore!"

"Yeah, what's the matter with you?!"

"Seriously, Rob, It's not funny anymore, okay?!" And all at once, we were hitting Rob with a barage of complaints, just like yesterday afternoon. Again he brushed us off.

"You guys embarrass yourselves! I just get it on tape and show the world!" My eyebrows rose in shock. I don't know why it surprised me, after all he'd done. But Andre voiced our feelings the best.

"Well, we don't wanna be your friends till you stop."

Robbie took a second to look around, but we all gave him the same unforgiving look. "Fine. Lots of other people wanna be my friends. Smart and attractive people!" He bristled, picking up his empty food carton as he got to his feet. I could tell we touched a nerve, but it was also fleeting. There was no way he was going to stop. "See ya on the web." I shook my head, watching Rob leave before turning back towards the table. '_Jerk.._'

A tense hush fell over the table. We were all fuming, except Cat. She looked around before turnin towards Tori, awkwardly trying to break the ice. "Do you want me to juice your bagel?"

"I really don't." Tori whined. I sighed. Jumping up from the table, I stalked away to go find food. Jade found me by the vending machines, inside. This was becoming a regular habit, all due to Cat's new toys.

"Can you believe Robbie?" She asked, folding her arms as she leaned back against the wall nearby. I looked up, briefly, before stuffing my face with chips.

"I don't want to talk about it." There was another tense silence where we didn't make eye contact. Finally, she spoke again, tentatively.

"Sorry about your pizza." I shrugged. I didn't have anything to say about that either. Sighing, I crumpled up the empty bag, tossing it in the nearby trash.

"Let's go out tonight. There's supposed to be a live band performing over in the warehouse district. Lots of people will be there." Her shoulders lifted in a noncommittal gesture. In the end, she agreed to think about it.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. People were already losing interest in the rumors of my failing relationship with Jade. It was a relief. Later that night, I picked Jade up in my car. It was a convertible with a light blue leather interior, another classic. This one was a gift from my grandmother. I guess you could say, I had a thing for classic cars.

After I picked her up, we decided to just grab some food through a drive-thru. We were both still wearing the same clothes from school that day. Jade didn't want to go to the concert right away. In fact, I had a strong suspicion she didn't want to go at all. I pulled over to a stop in an empty park. We ate our meals in silence.

Finally, after we'd finished eating and the silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable, I broke the quiet. "Come on, let's just go. It'll be fun." I didn't really understand her reservations, to be honest. Sure, Robbie was causing me just as much stress, but why let it ruin our social lives? We could still enjoy ourselves if we tried.

"Nooo!" She whined, rolling her eyes toward the sky. My brows furrowed. '_When did we go from maybe to no?_'

"Why not?"

"'Cause I didn't shower this morning, And I had tuna fish for lunch, And…" She trailed off, letting her gaze move away from me towards the back of the car. Suddenly she jumped, her jaw dropping as her eyes widened in shock. "There's a dude In the back seat!"

'_Huh?_' I looked back, over my shoulder. Sure enough, there was a younger kid sitting up in the back. It looked like he'd been lying down on the floor. He had a video camera in his hands. "What the? Hey man!"

"Get out!"

"What are you doing?! This is my car! Are you out of your mind?!" Jade was screaming in my ear, but I was too infuriated to care. My muscles tensed as I reached to slap the camera out of the kid's grasp. He dodged me though, clamoring out of my car. Somehow, he managed to keep the camera on us at all times. "What's wrong with you?!" I shouted after him. Instinctively, my arm wrapped around Jade protectively, pulling her against my chest. She was still hollering her own threats after him.

"I'm gonna kill you! Can you believe this?" After the kid disappeared from view, and I seriously considered chasing after him and beating him to a pulp, maybe even break his camera, I turned towards her, pulling her into a tight hug. Still fuming, my hand began rubbing circles into her back. Slowly, we both calmed to a simmering irritation.

After that, our date was pretty much ruined. Jade felt absolutely violated and demanded I take her home. I wasn't in the mood either. I dropped her off, walking her to the door to make sure she got inside safely. We shared a brief kiss. Then, I headed home, being sure to check my car for anymore stowaways.

Later that night, Jade sent me a link to a new robarazzi video. I managed to watch about a minute of it before throwing my phone across my trailer. "AHHHH!" I shut my eyes tight, screaming my frustrations, before falling back onto my bed. All I wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up with all of my problems gone, but it wasn't even ten.

I tossed and turned. I tried watching tv. When I lost my patience with that, I tried reading. Ten o'clock came and went and I was still too frustrated to sleep. Finally, around midnight, I retrieved my phone from the floor. '_Thank god for protective cases.._' I collapsed back in bed and checked my messages. Most of them were unknown numbers, texts from girls i didn't know. I clicked on Tori's name. I don't know why but she was the only person I wanted to talk to right then.

**Beck:** _Hey_.

**Tori:** _Hey, I was about to text you._

'_Really?_' I ignored the way my stomach clenched at her response. A small smile lightened my features as I typed out a reply.

**Beck:** _Oh yeah? What about? I guess you saw the video huh?_

**Tori:** _Yeah, sorry about that. That sucks. I can't believe he did that to you._

**Beck:** _I can. :( He's changed. I can't stand it. I know I don't show it, but I'm really upset._

**Beck:** _I feel betrayed. I'm stressed out. And, I'm not a violent guy, but I really want to hit someone._

My hand shook as I typed out the words. If it weren't for autocorrect, my response would have likely been pure gibberish. There was an unfamiliar tightness in my chest and throat. Pressure behind my eyes made them sting. I was really hurting from Robbie's actions, and part of me was embarrassed, sharing that hurt with Tori. The other part, trusted her with my innermost thoughts and feelings, seeking comfort.

**Tori:** _...Yeah, I know what you mean. But, I may have a plan._

Frowning, I reread her message over and over until the words finally sunk in. Brows furrowed, I typed out a response.

**Beck:** _What kind of plan?_

It was a brilliant plan! Tori called me, telling me every little detail. I was laughing by the end of it. It was light a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and by the end of our call, I went to bed feeling lighter than I had in weeks. The next day, the gang met up before school, discussing the plan in length. Jade and Tori would be waiting by the lockers with cameras ready, while Andre and I were tasked with stealing Robbie's clothes after gym. It went off seamlessly.

Robbie was always the last to shower after gym. He was insecure like that and so Andre and I were already cleaned up and dressed by the time Rob even shed his gym clothes. It worked out perfectly for us. We waited until Robbie walked away from his clothes before snatching them. Laughing, Andre and I took off running out of the locker room and through the halls. Robbie chased after us.

"Guys! No! Wait!" We led him straight to the girls.

"We got 'em!" I grinned into the camera before ducking behind Jade and Tori, waiting for Robbie to catch up.

"He's right behind us."

"It's not funny!" Robbie's voice grew louder as he rounded the corner, wrapped only in a towel. "You guys better give me back my clothes, or I swear I'm gonna tell-" He froze in his tracks, his arms coming up to cover his bare torso. "Ah! Turn off the camera!"

"Why? You look so cute." Tori snapped a couple pictures. I grinned. Students were gathering now to watch the spectacle, laughter erupting all around us, from myself included.

"Dance for us, Robbie." Jade added. Her tone was so deliciously mischievous. I loved it.

"Gimme back my clothes!" I smirked, folding my arms across my chest. Tori looked back, eyeing Andre and me, since we were the ones holding them hostage.

"Should we?" Rolling my eyes toward the ceiling, I contemplated her question for a second before shaking my head.

"Naaah.."

"Nooo!"

"Yeah, I think we need to put this video online." Tori added, nodding.

"What? No!"

"Sorry." Jade definitely wasn't sorry. In fact, she snapped another picture. My lips twitched into a smirk.

"The people wanna see what the people wanna see."

"You cannot put this video online!"

"Okay."

"No problem." I added. '_I'm loving this..Video or no video, half the school saw him naked. Well..almost naked._'

"We'll kill the video."

"As long as you kill Robarazzi." Tori's teasing tone hardened then, her hand coming to rest on her hip. It was kind of hot. I eyed Robbie now, quirking a brow. His jaw dropped in shock, the panic easily readable on his face.

"Wha- No!"

"Yes!"

"But my blog is a hit!" He pointed a finger defiantly at Tori. She wasn't backing down, however. '_C'mon Rob, don't be stupid. No blog is worth this level of humiliation.._'

"All right, then I'm just gonna zoom in right here." Tori lifted the camera again as Jade started snapping pictures.

"No, no, no, no! Don't, don't, don't!" Robbie gripped his towel tightly, making sure it didn't fall as he lifted a hand to cover the camera, his panic level rising again. I smirked, shaking my head. '_He's lucky I didn't steal the towels too.._'

"Are you gonna stop?"

I watched him quietly. I could see the wheels turning in his head. His situation was finally starting to sink in as Robbie licked his lips nervously. "Well, if I don't do Robarazzi, what am I gonna do for my blog on the slap?" A tense moment passed, Rob staring at us for suggestions. We exchanged glances with each other.

"We don't care, as long as you stop being a jerk." I added finally, my shoulders lifting. Finally, Cat wandered by, her nose stuck in the sky store catalog. She gasped, turning it around to point out a listing.

"Oh! Look! It's a machine that makes low fat ice cream!" All eyes were on Cat. Brows knit together, lips turning down with confused frowns. Then Tori gasped, snapping her fingers before turning towards Robbie. "How about a blog on healthy snacks and recipes?" In the end, that's what we all settled on. Andre and I gave Robbie back his clothes. Tori reminded him she still had the video and could use it at any time if he changed his mind. '_One problem down, one to go._' I thought, eyeing Cat.

"Come on, lemme have it." Friday, after school, we all hung around the steps as Cat flipped through her catalog, sniffling. Her parents had taken away her credit cards. Apparently, the bill from Sky store finally came in and it was astronomical. I held my hand out, waiting for her to hand over the magazine.

"But maybe I can talk my parents into giving me my credit card back!"

Sighing, I closed my eyes. '_She's in denial.._' I shot her a disapproving look. "Cat…"

"It's time to say goodbye to Sky Store." Added Tori, giving Cat a firm look. '_Why does it feel like Tori and I are the parents and everyone else are our unruly children?'_

"Don't you think that's the best thing to do?" Andre interjected, his voice soft and concerned. Cat looked at each of us in turn, but we were unrelenting. I held my hand out again, urging her to give it. My heart sank a little as cat caressed the catalog lovingly and then closed her eyes, thrusting it up at me with a pitiful squeak. I offered a consoling smile before lifting the magazine and ripping it in half. My heart squeezed as Cat whimpered next to me.

Tori slid over, wrapping an arm around Cat's shoulders. "Look, I know it hurts now, but you'll feel better soon."

"I know." Cat drew in a shaking breath, sighing softly. I felt for her, I really did. But it was for the best. Her obsession was growing out of control and unlike boys and candy, Sky Store was doing a lot of damage. It was an expensive habit to break.

"Wanna come hang for a while?"

"Nah, thanks. I just wanna sit here." She looked like she was about to cry.

"Okay." Tori gave her a pat on the head. "Bye." She added, pushing herself to her feet.

I looked down, affectionately nudging Cat's shoulder with a "See ya, sport." before shooting her another encouraging smile, then followed Tori to our next class.


End file.
